


stuck and tied (the two of us, together)

by babyweis



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Forbidden Love, Gen, Getting Back Together, M/M, Post Mpreg, heir!hyungwon, lmao this is the biggest cliche ever, side kiho because come on, the first chapter is a super short prologue, twins!hyungwonho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-06-09 00:42:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 33,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15255627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyweis/pseuds/babyweis
Summary: It's been over three years. Hyungwon returns to Seoul.(And he swears he's lost his mind during those years, because the lost kid he finds at the mall looks an awful lot like him.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> i love hyunghyuk and the abo universe, and this suddenly happened. i hope you'll enjoy this cliche ride thsvvsbddvdbs
> 
> (i promise the future chapters will be longer than the prologue lmfao)

"I'm leaving Korea," Hyungwon says. His back is facing Minhyuk as he buttons up his white shirt, and it's sudden and cold, but he's young and he doesn't know any better. There's a sound of a small, hard object colliding with the floor, and then Minhyuk rustling around to pick it up.

"Where?" The omega asks, and before Hyungwon can answer him, adds, "How long?"

"America," Hyungwon tells him, and leans down to put his shoes on. "My father is expanding his business."

"That's great," Minhyuk says, without missing a beat. There's some more rustling as he finishes dressing up as well, and then silence. It's not until Hyungwon straightens his back and shoves his phone in his pocket that Minhyuk repeats his other question, "How long?"

He sounds hopeful. Hyungwon knows that he's going to crash that hope down onto the floor and step on it, and he almost allows himself to feel guilty.

"Two years."

It's then that he turns around to look at Minhyuk, and he wishes right away that he didn't, because Minhyuk is staring straight at him, wordlessly standing in the middle of the hotel room.

Minhyuk takes a step closer to him, and then stops, and then he opens his mouth, only to close it again. Then he laughs.

"That's, that's a _joke_ , right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Hyungwon asks back, and Minhyuk falls silent once again, dropping his gaze onto the floor. His scent strikes Hyungwon, aggressively pleading for comfort, and Hyungwon struggles not to give in. He promised himself to do this quick.

"I don't want you to wait for me," he says. Minhyuk snaps his head up and looks at him again. "Don't call me or text me, either."

"Hyungwon-"

"Don't."

Minhyuk chews on his lower lip, obviously on the verge of crying, and Hyungwon's chest feels heavy. He turns around, mutters something that sounds pretty close to "I'm sorry" and maybe adds a brief, "I love you", before leaving the room.

Minhyuk doesn't follow him.

  
  


 

 

 

 

 

 

  
Two years turn into three and in the end it's been three and half years when Hyungwon leaves New York City and returns to Seoul. He's twenty-three years old, and not only known as the heir of his father's company, but also as a successful businessman on his own.

His mother runs to embrace him when he walks in through the doors of his family's mansion and cries, even though she came to visit him in America barely four months ago. Hoseok is also home to welcome him, and there is an omega on his arm, wearing a fresh claim mark on his neck for the world to see. He's introduced to Hyungwon as Yoo Kihyun, a son of their parents' friend.

"They also have another omega son who hasn't been claimed yet," their mother tells Hyungwon when the new couple has left the hall, and Hyungwon laughs.

"I just got home, mother. Let's talk about that later."

He goes to his old room to change before dinner, as it's where the servants brought his belongings. It's been redecorated, and it doesn't really feel as familiar as he wished it would, but he tells himself that it's better that way.

He lies down onto his bed and stares at the ceiling, exhausted after the long flight. He also blames it on his exhaustion when he stretches his long arms across the bed and thinks that it's too big for sleeping alone. Really, congrats to his brother on already claiming an omega - at least he won't need to spend his nights alone like Hyungwon will if he doesn't go on his way to have one-night-stands in hotel rooms.

_Hotel rooms._

It's still exhaustion, Hyungwon tells himself, because it's already been more than three years, and what kind of a sentimental fool actually mopes after things that happened so long ago? Definitely not him. At least, not when he's in his right mind - right now, he is _not_.

He closes his eyes and breathes deeply, and his mind starts to slip away into something that's really nothing but also everything that, at some point of his life, used to matter to him the most.

Someone knocks onto the door causing his eyes to snap open, and Minhyuk slips away from his hands.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyungwon's past already catches up with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for the comments and kudos, i'm pleased to know that you liked the first chapter.
> 
> i decided to put this one up fast, since the first one was shortm and just a prologue, and i wanted to get things going already.

"So," Hyungwon starts, slowly dragging out his words as Hoseok stares at him, waiting. "Is it just a business thing?"

They are standing outside in the mansion's garden. It's already dark, and Hyungwon kind of just wants to sleep already, but he hasn't had an actual chat with Hoseok yet after arriving home yesterday, their parents taking up most of his time for the past twenty-four hours.

"What?" Hoseok asks, and Hyungwon rolls his eyes.

"You and Kihyun."

"Oh." A pause. Hyungwon glances over at his brother, crossing his arms and taking a seat on the bench behind him. "It was, at first. Father introduced me to him and his family. But I like him, a _lot_ , honestly."

"Like him," Hyungwon repeats, and Hoseok smiles dumbly, reminding Hyungwon of the times they were in high school and the other used to have a crush on a beta girl in their class.

"I wouldn't have claimed him if I didn't like him. He feels the same. It was kind of arranged, but it doesn't really feel like it."

Hoseok sounds happy as he speaks, genuine, and Hyungwon can't really believe him. Meaning, he believes what Hoseok is saying, but he can't believe this entire situation is actually happening.

"Wow," he snorts, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking away from Hoseok. "Must feel nice. Lucky you."

He can imagine the way Hoseok's face falls and transforms into a disapproving frown, and definitely can hear it in his voice when he speaks. "Hyungwon. This could happen to you too, you know."

"As if I wanted it to happen to me. And don't speak with that tone, I'm actually happy for you."

Silence.

Hyungwon turns his head and raises an eyebrow as he catches Hoseok staring at him. He's wearing an unreadable expression, and that's _rare_ , because usually Hoseok can be read like an open book. Or could be. Maybe he has changed while Hyungwon was away.

"Is this-" Hoseok starts, inhaling deeply when Hyungwon's eye twitches, "God, Hyungwon. Are you still thinking about him?"

Hyungwon's insides churn. He barely feels the rage before he acts on it, getting up from the bench with sharp movements and shooting a venomous glare at Hoseok's direction. "This isn't about him, fuck off."

"Why is your reaction like that, then?"

"You're pissing me off," Hyungwon says, and then swirls around, leaving his brother alone in the garden.

There's a weird sense of Déjà Vu, like they've had this conversation before, in a different place at a different time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
Hyungwon hates malls. They are crowded, and the air is suffocating, and people shove him with their elbows and stupid shopping bags while moving along the crowd, and it's just, not nice. He curses Jooheon in three different languages in his head as he stands there, waiting for the said beta to show up.

They could've met at Jooheon's house, or maybe in some nice restaurant, but Jooheon had insisted that they meet up at the mall first, because there's a new café in there and he's apparently been dying to try it out. Hyungwon should have been strict like he usually is and told him no, but Jooheon is, somehow, his best friend even after his stay in America, and somehow he had found it difficult to do so.

He could at least show up in time, Hyungwon thinks bitterly, glancing at the watch on his wrist for the nth time in the past fifteen minutes, while trying his best to ignore the way people keep staring at him as they pass by. Alright, he's good-looking, and wears expensive clothes, and his scent is unusually sweet for an alpha, _please move on._

He's about to pull his phone from his pocket and call Jooheon to tell his ass to hurry up, but his ears suddenly catch on a sound of a child crying.

It's his instincts, making him feel uneasy when there is someone who's hurting. Omegas are usually more sensitive to the sound of a child crying, their maternity instincts kicking in, but alphas are supposed to be protectors, and therefore react to it too, some less, some more.

Hyungwon's instincts aren't usually that strong, and it's even rarer for him to act on them, but something is _twisting_ in his chest, and it's difficult for him to ignore it.

The child is standing in the middle of the enormous room, and he can't be more than four years old. He's crying, and he's _alone_. There are a lot of people just walking past him, and Hyungwon is suddenly walking, his legs carrying him over to the crying child in less than ten seconds.

"Hey," he calls out, trying not to sound threatening. The child actually quiets down from his loud crying fit and looks up at him. He looks familiar, Hyungwon thinks. Clearing his throat, he crouches down so he's on an eye-level to the kid, and speaks again. "My name is Hyungwon. Why are you here alone? Where's your mom?"

The kid sobs, and wipes at his face aggressively with both hands. "I'm lost," he stutters out. He speaks fairly well, considering that he's still sniffling and looks very young. "I lost mom."

Hyungwon's heart stings, and he can't believe the fact that he's actually feeling so terrible over someone else's child, but there's no way around it. "Don't worry," he says, attempting a smile, "I'll help you find your mom."

"Really?"

"Really," Hyungwon reassures, and reaches out to pat the child's hair - only pulling his hand back half-way through, because _what the fuck, he's going to scare the kid._ "What's your name?"

"Hyungjun," the kid answers, sniffling as he wipes at his cheek again.

"That's a great name," Hyungwon tells him, attempting to cheer him up, and it actually works.

Hyungjun beams, and it suddenly strikes Hyungwon why he had found the kid's face so familiar.

_He recognizes it from his own childhood pictures._

Trying his best not to show the kid the shock that he's currently experiencing, _it's such a weird coincidence_ , he returns the smile and gets up, still looking down at the kid, "Where did you last see your mom, Hyungjun?"

"The store," Hyungjun says, kind of unhelpfully since they are surrounded by dozens of stores, but then he swirls around and points at the escalator. "We were up there."

Oh.

"Did you come down all by yourself?" Hyungwon asks. Hyungjun sniffles again and nods.

Hyungwon frowns and pinches the bridge of his nose as he thinks. There probably should be an info desk of some sort - something where people can go for cases like this. However, he's obviously not familiar with this place, and it's enormous, so he really doesn't know where to start looking - for the info desk, or Hyungjun's mother.

Had Jooheon been there, he would've definitely known what to do - Hyungwon wouldn't be surprised if he helped lost kids in malls or supermarkets at a daily basis. However, the fucker still hasn't shown up, and Hyungwon needs to be the adult here and help the kid on his own.

"Well-"

" _Hyungjun_!"

The voice rings clear and loud from across the room, and Hyungwon nearly chokes on thin air.

He knows that voice.

_Oh, god, he knows that voice._

His breath is stuck to his throat, while his heartbeat is leaping at full force. There's a voice in his head that tells him to turn around and walk away, but his feet are stuck to the ground.

He watches as Hyungjun lets a delighted scream of, " _Mom_!" and then a blonde omega male pushes his way through the crowd, scooping the kid up to his arms, all the while babbling in panic. Hyungwon can't make out what he's saying, because it's mixing into a blur of nonsense with all the background noises.

He looks up at Hyungwon.

 _No,_ Hyungwon thinks, _no, no, no, no, nonono-_

"Hyungwon," the omega whispers. Hyungwon sees how his hands are shaking as he wraps them tighter around Hyungjun.

"Minhyuk," he responds, barely stopping himself from stuttering. His hands are sweating, and he shoves them in his pockets. He needs to keep his cool. It's been more than three years. More than three years-

And it's in that second that Hyungwon's mind registers the fact that Hyungjun, indeed, called Minhyuk his mother, just a few minutes ago. His gaze drops from Minhyuk's face to Hyungjun, and then back at Minhyuk, and he opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

Hyungjun seems like he, very well, could be around three years old. And he called Minhyuk his mother.

_And he looks exactly like Hyungwon._

Three and a half years - if, at the time Hyungwon left, Minhyuk was already -

Hyungwon inhales deeply. He's losing control over the situation, over _himself_ , and that's not a good thing.

Minhyuk is still looking at him. Hyungjun has his arms wrapped around his neck, clinging onto him like a baby koala. Hyungwon would have thought it was cute if it wasn't for the situation.

Minhyuk's lips are trembling. Hyungwon knows he's trying to hold himself together.

He hates himself for making him feel like that, again; for making Minhyuk, _his beautiful, precious Minhyuk_ \- cry.

 _His_. As if things were the same as they were back then.

He wants to say, " _I'm sorry,_ " but instead, he takes a deep breath and draws out his business voice,

"We need to talk."

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first and the second beginnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just to make it clear, the first part of this chapter is a throwback.

"I'm going to use the restroom," Hyungwon tells Jooheon. The younger lifts his hand to show that he heard him and downs the rest of his drink before diving back into the conversation he's having with another beta boy whose name Hyungwon already has forgotten.

For some reason he'd let Jooheon drag him into another, low-life club in the opposite side of the city, even though there are _so many_ better ways to spend Fridays. Like studying for that upcoming psychology exam, or writing the history essay which's deadline is on Monday.

Or at least going into a club that's in a better neighbourhood and doesn't smell like cigarettes and dirt. Hyungwon doesn't even want to imagine his parents' faces if they found out where he is.

He makes a beeline to the hallway where the restrooms are, bumping into a couple making out right by the doorway. His face twists into a grimace and he mutters an apology under his breath when the alpha male, certainly older than him by at least ten years, drunkenly growls at him.

That's one more reason to hate this damned, uncivilized club.

He skids down the hallway and opens the door to the nearest restroom. The lights are dimmed, even darker than in the hallway, and Hyungwon smells it before he sees it - the strong, powerful scent of an alpha, and right after that, a sweet, alluring scent of a young omega.

He could shrug it off as another, drunken making out session, but there's something _wrong_ with the way the omega's scent calls out to him. It's not seductive, but pleading.

The omega is _scared_.

They are in the opposite wall, straight across from Hyungwon, the alpha's back facing him, the omega almost completely hidden behind his frame. They are close to each other, but as Hyungwon's eyes adjust to the dark, he can see the omega's hand on the alpha's shoulder, obviously trying to push him away.

"I don't-"

"Shut up," the alpha growls, and by then the scent the omega emits reeks of nothing but pure panic. Hyungwon, uncharastetically for him, speaks before he thinks.

"Hey, leave him alone."

The alpha stiffens, and then swirls around to meet Hyungwon's eyes. He's a tad bit shorter than Hyungwon, but obviously better built, and older - probably in college. Hyungwon grits his teeth and curses himself in his mind.

"And who are you?" The alpha asks, looking him up and down. "Trying to play a hero? Sorry boy, I don't waste my time on so-called-alphas who look like they've just presented."

Hyungwon ignores the insult - he's eighteen, and presented _four years ago_ , thank you very much - and scoffs. "And I would rather not waste my time on a grown ass alpha who assaults omegas in a shitty club's restroom."

The older alpha's expression turns grim, and Hyungwon prepares himself to make a run for it if needed - he has never been in a fistfight, and he'd rather not end up in one tonight, either, no matter how cowardly that is for an alpha.

"You are playing on thin ice, boy."

"So are you," Hyungwon says, keeping up his front. He's aware he's about to sound like a spoiled rich brat, but he's also aware that he pretty much _is one_. "My parents will have your head in the court if you so much as lay a finger on me."

The alpha laughs, but it sounds nervous, as he takes another look at Hyungwon's expensive clothes and the watch he wears on his wrist. Then he shakes his head and says, "Fine, keep the bitch," before storming out of the room, past Hyungwon.

Hyungwon stands there for a few quiet, awkward minutes, not quite believing that the other gave up so easily, before actually looking at the omega he kind of managed to save.

He's got shiny black hair, his outfit all-black as well. He's probably around Hyungwon's age, and quite tall, but he looks small, squeezed against the wall while hugging himself. There's a light dose of makeup decorating his eyes, and Hyungwon quietly admits to himself that he is very beautiful.

They stare at each other for another, painfully long moment, until the omega says, "Thank you."

Hyungwon shrugs his shoulders and rubs at the back of his neck. He suddenly feels very lightheaded. "You're welcome, I guess. I, uh," he stops for a moment, heat rising to his cheeks because why the hell is he stuttering, "What's your name?"

"My name?" The omega repeats, sounding way too amused for Hyungwon's liking. He still answers, though. "Minhyuk."

That's not the most uncommon name, but it suits him, Hyungwon thinks. He shoves his hands in his pockets, shifting his weight from one feet to other before he says, "I'm Hyungwon."

Minhyuk smiles, a row of white teeth flashing in the dimmed lights of the room, and Hyungwon can feel heat rising to his cheeks.

He's a young alpha who rarely spends time around omegas, so it's only _natural_. Or that's what he tells himself. Honestly speaking, he doesn't recall the last time he felt so awkward around anyone. It's ridiculous, really. What's he feeling so awkward for?

"I'm going to go get some fresh air," he says, slowly, to make sure he doesn't end up doing something terribly embarrassing like stuttering. "Do you want to come along?"

Minhyuk gives him a suspicious look, but he's still somehow smiling as he straightens his back and takes a step closer to Hyungwon. "I wonder if I should trust you," he says, grinning playfully before continuing, "But then again, you used your parents as a way to scare that creep off, so I guess you won't do anything."

If Hyungwon's cheeks were already burning up earlier, they actually get caught on flames at the comment. He rolls his eyes and looks away. "It worked, though."

"Yeah," Minhyuk says, laughter bubbling from his lips, and Hyungwon's heart does a cartwheel - and another one, when Minhyuk brushes past him to the door. "Come on, let's get going then."

"Let's," Hyungwon repeats dumbly, and follows him.

  
  


 

 

 

 

 

 

  
Minhyuk is frowning, his hands seated neatly on his lap, an untouched cup of coffee on the table in front of him. He's staring across the café to the counter, where he'd left Hyungjun with some beta male waiter he appeared to be friends with.

Hyungwon has a cup of coffee in his hand, but he hasn't taken a single sip of it either. He feels lightheaded, his eyes constantly jumping from Minhyuk to the spot Hyungjun was left in, his fingers trembling as he tightens his grip around the coffee.

"Minhyuk," he says, low and quiet. He kind of wants to say it again, to taste the name on his tongue, but Minhyuk already looks at him, so he doesn't have to. "Is _he_ \- Hyungjun-"

"Yes," Minhyuk replies before he can finish. Hyungwon's stomach drops.

_He has a child. With Minhyuk. And he didn't know._

"I was three months pregnant when you left," Minhyuk tells him with a quiet voice, dropping his gaze down to his lap. Seeing him that way makes Hyungwon feel even more uneasy than he already does - Minhyuk used to be such a bright person, constantly talking with a loud voice, always smiling and laughing - it's like all that has been torn away from him and this is all that's left.

It's even worse to know that Hyungwon was the one who did that.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hyungwon asks, watching how Minhyuk inhales deeply, tugging at the strands of his hair that are now snowy white instead of deep black.

"I was going to," Minhyuk whispers. "That morning, I was going to, but then you said you were leaving."

"You still could have told me," Hyungwon says, trying to keep his tone steady, but doing a pretty awful job at it. "Minhyuk-"

"I figured that since it was so easy for you to leave me, you would have no problem with leaving the baby as well."

The words sound accusing, and make Hyungwon feel even more guilty just on their own, but Minhyuk's voice isn't sharp or angry. Just soft, sad, and _tired_ , and that might just be even worse. Hyungwon has to stop himself from reaching over the table to take his hands in his.

"It wasn't easy for me," he says, swallowing the lump in his throat, "I didn't want to leave. It was my parents' idea, and I _had_ to, Minhyuk, they...they found out."

Minhyuk looks at him, straight in the eye, but it's only for a second and then he turns away again. "S-so," he stutters, "so what? They hated that so much they decided to send you to America? What would they even have done if you didn't go? _Why didn't you tell me anything?"_

Hyungwon sighs and places his coffee down onto the table, glancing towards the counter to see if the waiter is bringing Hyungjun back yet, but it seems like they are still in the backroom. Looking at Minhyuk, he leans onto the table with his elbows.

"I thought that leaving like that would help you get over me faster," he silently explains. "There was a reason we kept it as a secret, and you know that well."

"Oh yeah," Minhyuk sniffles, this time actually sounding angry, "because I'm a dirty low-class."

"In my parents' eyes, yes," Hyungwon says. "But you know I've never viewed you that way."

"Do I?"

"Minhyuk," Hyungwon starts again, but shuts his mouth as he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. Holding back a sigh, he pulls it out and glances at the caller's ID - Jooheon.

 _Right_ , they were supposed to meet.

He declines the call and shoves the phone back in his pocket, deciding to deal with that later.

Minhyuk is wiping angrily at his own cheek, still staring down at his lap. He's close to tears, again, and Hyungwon has to look away.

"I'm sorry," he says.

"Of course you are," Minhyuk whispers. The aggression has died from his voice again, and now it just sounds dull.

Hyungwon doesn't know how to respond to that.

They stay silent for a moment, and then Minhyuk gets up from his seat, turning his back to Hyungwon. "I have to go," he says.

Hyungwon takes a deep breath. He wants to argue that they haven't really solved anything, but then again, maybe this tiny café isn't the best place for that. "I understand," he says, and gets up as well.

He follows Minhyuk up to the counter, and they pay their coffees separately.

"Can you go fetch Changkyun and Hyungjun for me?" Minhyuk asks the female omega waiter who's standing behind the corner, and she gives him a smile and a nod before leaving to the backroom.

As soon as she's gone, Minhyuk turns to Hyungwon, and while avoiding eye contact, says, "Give me your phone."

Hyungwon raises an eyebrow, but pulls his phone from his pocket anyway, unlocking it. As he gives it over to Minhyuk, the omega takes it carefully, as if making sure that their fingers don't brush by accident.

He watches how Minhyuk types in his number, puts his own name as the contact name, and then offers the phone back to Hyungwon. Hyungwon takes it, less carefully, but their fingers still don't brush together.

"Call me if you need to talk about Hyungjun," Minhyuk says. "If you don't care, just delete it. I'm fine either way."

"Are you?" Hyungwon asks. Minhyuk's form visibly stiffens, but he doesn't respond, as the backroom's door is opened and Hyungjun rushes out, his eyes shining with delight as he reaches towards Minhyuk with his tiny arms. The beta male, apparently named Changkyun, follows after him, giving Hyungwon a suspicious look.

"Mom! Did you talk with uncle Hyungwon?" Hyungjun asks as Changkyun lifts him up from the ground, handing him over to Minhyuk's arms.

"He's not your uncle," is all Minhyuk says, wrapping his arms around Hyungjun's tiny frame. Hyungwon feels oddly warm as he watches the two of them, but at the same time his chest aches.

He shouldn't have left.

"We will go home now," Minhyuk tells Changkyun, and the latter nods.

"I'll call you later," he says. Hyungwon wishes he could say the same as well, but instead he stays quiet.

"Okay," Minhyuk says, and then peeks at Hyungjun's face. "Say bye to uncle Changkyun."

"Bye!" Hyungjun exclaims obediently, waving his hand at Changkyun, and the latter breaks a smile.

"I'll see you around."

Minhyuk nods and turns around with that, but Hyungwon is able to catch a trace of smile crossing his face, and it's enough to leave him standing at the same spot wordlessly for the next two minutes.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all runs even deeper.

After having enough of the obvious glares Changkyun keeps sending his way, Hyungwon leaves the café, slowly dragging his feet across the floor. He sends Jooheon a text, telling him that something happened and he needs some time alone, and Jooheon, being the understanding, sweet best friend that he is, tells him _it's alright and reminds him that if he wants to talk, he will be there to listen._

It's a sweet gesture, something genuine - it's how people often show others that they care and want to help if they are in distress. Hyungwon tries to remember if he ever told that to Minhyuk when they were together, and realizes that he probably didn't.

His feet feel heavy, and so does his chest, as he makes his way down the streets of the city. He knew he'd fucked up, but this? He doubts he'll ever forgive himself. And that Minhyuk will ever forgive him either.

That Hyungjun will ever forgive him when he grows up and gets to know everything.

Will he even know? Sure he has to, at some point. At some point, Minhyuk will have to tell him what kind of an asshole his father is, and he'll spend the rest of his life hating Hyungwon.

That child, the one who trusted him so easily when Hyungwon walked up to him in the mall. His and Minhyuk's child. The child who Hyungwon had abandoned along with Minhyuk.

Should Hyungwon even try to be a part of his life anymore? Something more of a father than just the one who left him and his mother before he was born without coming back? He can't just leave him, leave them, again. Minhyuk had given him his phone number, which must mean that he, in some way, wants Hyungwon to be a part of Hyungjun's life.

Or maybe he just gave him the number so Hyungwon could call him a few times in a year and ask how Hyungjun is doing - _has he gotten sick recently? How was his first day at school like? Does he have many friends? Did he like the game I sent him for Christmas? Oh, he presented already? Is he seeing anyone? How did his graduation go?_

They would go on like that, and at some point the both of them would also get married to other people - Hyungwon to some pretty omega introduced to him by his parents and Minhyuk to an alpha or a beta who will love him and care for him and Hyungjun like they deserve. And they would have other kids - Hyungjun would be an older brother, but he would never even meet all of his siblings or know about their existence, because they are Hyungwon's children and Hyungjun doesn't know about Hyungwon. At least, not until he finally pleads for Minhyuk to tell him about his father and then he comes to meet him to ask him why.

Hyungwon stops in the middle of the street, people bumping at his frame as they pass by. Is that what he wants? Is that the kind of future he wants, for himself, for Hyungjun, for Minhyuk?

_It's not._

He knows, that in a way, it's not possible, either.

But what else is he going to do? He can't let his family find out about this, not again. But how can he try to be a part of Hyungjun and Minhyuk's lives from now on without his family finding out?

How can he explain to them that he can't and he won't ever get married or claim anyone unless it's Minhyuk?

He knows, that somehow, Hoseok would understand. Back then, he did too, and didn't reveal their relationship when he found out. But their parents? Their father? Never. The way they had spoken about Minhyuk back then-

What would they do if they found out about Hyungjun?

He sure as hell wouldn't be welcomed as a part of their family despite being their first grandchild. And if it got out to public?  Hyungwon can already see the headlines: _The Heir Of Chae Corporations Had An Illegitimate Child Without His Parents' Knowledge - With A Low-Class Omega!_

Grimacing, he drags his feet to the side of his street, away from the crowd. Minhyuk must already have a hard time, being a single parent of, well, _that illegitimate child_. If the news broke out, he wouldn't even have any peace from the public, not to mention Hyungwon's parents.

It's awful, the fact that Hyungwon did this to him. He should have at least stayed a little longer that morning. He should have explained everything, that he had to leave because his parents found out - he should have held Minhyuk and properly told him how much he loved him. He should have given Minhyuk the time to tell him about the pregnancy and then ran away together, somewhere where his parents wouldn't have found them, and raised Hyungjun together.

He should have, he should have, he should have.

But he didn't.

  
  


 

 

 

 

 

 

One in the morning.

Minhyuk drags a hand through his hair and down across his face, sitting up on his bed. He has to get up at six to take Hyungjun to daycare and then go to work. He has a long day today, ten hours. He can't call in sick and just stay home with Hyungjun - he had been asking to get the Saturday shift for so long, as the pay is enormous compared to his usual days. He needs the money. They need the money. Hyungjun has been growing up so fast, he's constantly in need of new clothes as they get too small.

_Will he grow up to be as tall as his father?_

Minhyuk winces. He wonders how, after all this time, thinking about Hyungwon still makes him do that.

As if he didn't know why.

He gets up from the bed and grimaces slightly at the cold floor under his bare feet, quickly padding his way out of the small room. Hyungjun's room's door, across from his, is open just like his is - they always are. Minhyuk tells Changkyun and Hyunwoo that it's because Hyungjun won't sleep otherwise. It's obvious that they don't believe him, but they also don't say anything about it - don't ask him if it's actually because of him.

He quietly peeks inside the room, allowing a faint smile to spread on his lips as he sees his son wrapped in the covers of the bed that's too big for him, resembling a cocoon.

Hyungwon used to sleep like that, too, the covers tightly wrapped around him as he nuzzled onto his pillow - on the rare occasions when he wasn't cuddling Minhyuk.

Minhyuk steps back from the doorway and makes his way to the living room, combined with the kitchen. He slumps down onto the couch and pulls his knees up to his chest, wrapping a blanket around himself.

He needs to stop. It's been over three years, and he shouldn't be having any kind of feelings right now, despite meeting Hyungwon yesterday. Three years. That's a long time - Hyungwon could be a completely different person now, something way different from the alpha who Minhyuk used to know.

But did he really ever know him at all, though? He has thought of it before, countless of times. That the Hyungwon who he used to know wouldn't have left him like that. That the Hyungwon he used to know wasn't really Hyungwon at all, but just a character in a game that Minhyuk hadn't been aware of, even though he had been right in the middle of it.

But if Hyungwon had just been playing around and pretending, then would he have kept going for so long - would he have gone so far? Minhyuk refuses to believe that. He wants to believe what Hyungwon told him yesterday. He wants to believe that Hyungwon will call him and ask him to meet up, ask him if he can get to know Hyungjun.

And he does. His naïve, stupid heart believes in Hyungwon.

It has to, because the only thing that Minhyuk has had left for years is that tiny piece of hope that Hyungwon will return, and if he didn't hold onto that anymore, he would break.

He would break, utterly and for good, and he can't do that. He can't, because he's all that Hyungjun has, and he swore that he would protect him and make sure he's going to live a better life. He has to do that. That, and that tiny piece of hope, they are the only things that are keeping him sane. If he failed with one, the other would crumble from his hands as well, and then he would be left with nothing.

So maybe he needs to stop having any feelings for Hyungwon, but that doesn't mean he can't believe in him and wait for him to return. To at least return to Hyungjun, if not to him.

Because Hyungjun deserves a father, and Minhyuk believes that even after what he did, Hyungwon - the Hyungwon Minhyuk used to know - would make a good father if he wanted to. Because he's the only father Minhyuk can ever really give him.

Inhaling deeply, Minhyuk brings his hand up to his left shoulder, stopping halfway for a moment and closing his eyes before proceeding.

He's angry. He is. For the fact that Hyungwon left him, left them, like that, but he also knows he should have done _something_. Maybe he should've called out for Hyungwon before he left the hotel room and told him about the pregnancy. He should've asked him to stay. He should've tried harder instead of just _standing_ there pitifully. He should have tried calling Hyungwon. Because even though he had been left like that, Hyungwon deserved to know that he had a child.

What if Hyungjun hadn't gotten lost in the mall? What if they had been there at a different time? Would they have gone on with their lives without each other, or would fate have found another sick way of playing around with them?

Fate.

Such a stupid thing, Minhyuk thinks to himself as he slips a hand under his shirt and lets his fingers trace the old, faint claim mark decorating his shoulder.

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first step

"Seriously, though."

Hyungwon stops in the middle of sipping his coffee, lips still wrapped around the straw as he looks at Jooheon with raised eyebrows. "What?"

Jooheon rolls his eyes and plops down onto the couch next to him. "How are you really doing? Shit really must have gone down since you cancelled on me yesterday."

"Oh, yeah, that." _That. Oh, yeah._ As if Hyungwon hadn't been thinking about _that_ for the whole time already. He looks down at his coffee and swirls the straw in between his fingers. "It was... I don't know."

"Just spit it out, man."

"I met him."

There's silence. Hyungwon puts his cup down onto Jooheon's coffee table and looks at the beta, who's already looking back at him.

"Who?" Jooheon asks. He looks genuinely confused for a moment, but then he suddenly gapes, " _Minhyuk_?"

Hyungwon winces - someone else saying it out loud just makes everything more real, and that's the exact thing he doesn't need right now.

"Wow, shit, you really met him," Jooheon says, slumping back against the backrest of the couch. "I guess it didn't go well?"

"Yeah," Hyungwon says. He runs a hand over the pocket holding his phone and thinks of how Minhyuk held it the day before. He hasn't called him - not yet. He still doesn't know if he should even call at all. "It's..."

Jooheon doesn't urge him this time. Hyungwon is grateful for that, but at the same time he doesn't know if he'll be able to say anything at all due to that. He wants to talk about Minhyuk, about Hyungjun. But how? He's spent the last twenty-four hours thinking about them and he still hasn't gotten anywhere. Is talking out loud even going to change anything but the fact that there will then be one more person to judge him and his stupid decisions?

But Jooheon is still staring at him, and he feels as if he's going to burst if he doesn't say anything.

"Minhyuk has a son," he says. He barely gives Jooheon any time to overcome his shock before he corrects, "Minhyuk and I have a son."

In any other situation, Hyungwon would've perhaps laughed at the look on Jooheon's face, but this isn't any other situation, so he sits still without blinking an eye.

"What- _what_."

"Minhyuk was pregnant when I left," Hyungwon explains, his attempts at remaining calm crumbling little by little. "I didn't know. I only found out yesterday. I- his name is Hyungjun."

Jooheon doesn't say anything. Hyungwon fidgets in his place and crosses his arms, inhaling deeply. "Minhyuk gave me his number. I don't know if I should call him."

"Well," Jooheon finally starts, "First of all, that's quite a shitty situation. Second of all, if he gave you his number, you really should call him."

"But-"

"Dude, he wouldn't have given his number if he didn't want you to call him," Jooheon interrupts. Hyungwon shuts his mouth and looks down at his own lap. "And listen, I love you and all, but you're kind of a shitty person if you don't at least do that for him. And, you know, for the kid."

"I know," Hyungwon mumbles. He decides not to mention that he feels like a shitty person already. "But what will it lead to if I call him?"

"I don't know," Jooheon says, sighing, "all I'm saying is you have to work it out together with him."

Unlike last time, Hyungwon thinks bitterly. Jooheon is right, and he knows that.

"Fine. I'll call him."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
"Hyunwoo," Minhyuk calls out, Hyungjun letting go of his hand to run to the said man. "Why are you here?"

Hyunwoo ruffles Hyungjun's hair as the latter presses himself against his leg and then looks at Minhyuk. He's smiling, but somehow he looks like he's wary of something, and that's when Minhyuk realizes that he knows.

"Did Changkyun tell you?" Minhyuk asks as he fishes his keys out of his pocket to open the door so they don't need to talk in the hallway.

"He did," Hyunwoo says, glancing down at Hyungjun and flashing him a smile. Minhyuk watches the two of them, for a second or two, pressed against each other's sides, and he wonders why he didn't fall for Hyunwoo instead. "But I was already thinking of coming, anyway. I missed you two."

"Missed you too!" Hyungjun exclaims, breaking into a smile, and Hyunwoo laughs as he hoists him up to his arms. Minhyuk is unable to hold back a smile as he turns his back to them and unlocks the door.

"Alright, you two. Let's go inside," he says, shoving the door open and stepping to the side so Hyunwoo can carry Hyungjun inside.

"Need help with the groceries?" Hyunwoo asks as he passes by, glancing down at the two plastic bags Minhyuk is holding with one hand.

"No thanks," Minhyuk says, stepping inside as well and shutting the door after himself, "Your hands are full, anyway."

Hyunwoo smiles, and Hyungjun laughs. "No, mom! Uncle Hyunwoo is strong, he can carry groceries _and_ Hyungjun."

"Can he?" Minhyuk teases, nudging Hyunwoo's side with his elbow before kicking off his shoes and escaping to the kitchen.

"Are you doubting me?" Hyunwoo calls after him, staying back to remove his and Hyungjun's shoes. Minhyuk rolls his eyes with a smile on his lips and doesn't answer.

He has just lifted the bags on the kitchen counter and opened the fridge door, when there are footsteps behind him and then strong, trained arms snaking around his waist. Barely having the time to think of what's happening, he lets out an inhumane screech as Hyunwoo suddenly hoists him up from the ground and throws him over his shoulder.

"No! Nonono, _stop_ , let me down-" he rambles, laughter bubbling in his chest as Hyunwoo spins him around.

"I asked you if you were doubting me," Hyunwoo says, and Minhyuk slaps his back, struggling to get down - with no avail.

"I was, yes! Let me down, the groceries- Hyungjun, come save mom!"

Hyungjun runs to them as fast as his little legs can carry him, and nearly shrieks with laughter as he sees them. "Uncle, no! Let mom go!" he yells in between giggles, attaching himself to Hyunwoo's leg.

"Uh-huh, I'm never letting him go," Hyunwoo says playfully, suddenly leaning down so fast and so much Minhyuk thinks he's going to fall off, but somehow he doesn't. "And I'm going to take you too," he continues. Minhyuk is at an angle where he can't see what's happening, but he can hear Hyungjun's laughter and feels Hyunwoo twisting around as if he's trying to catch him.

 _This is ridiculous,_ he thinks, but he can't remember the last time he laughed this much. Hyungjun is having fun, as well.

Besides, he used to love doing ridiculous stuff. He wonders when that ended.

As Hyunwoo straightens his back again, probably giving up on Hyungjun for a second, Minhyuk's eyes catch on his own phone on the kitchen counter. It's vibrating. He squints. There's an unknown number calling.

An unknown number.

 _Hyungwon_?

"My phone," he says, struggling against Hyunwoo's hold again, and the alpha finally lets go of him, safely letting him find his feet on the floor again.

"Who calling?" Hyungjun asks, bouncing towards the counter where Minhyuk's phone is. Minhyuk pets his hair absent-mindedly before grabbing the phone himself and glancing over at Hyunwoo, who seems to take the hint.

"Alright, Hyungjunnie, have you gotten any new toys?" Hyunwoo asks, and Minhyuk can almost see fire lighting up in Hyungjun's eyes as he exclaims, _yes_!, and starts dragging Hyunwoo towards his own bedroom, the call long forgotten.

Minhyuk watches them go as he lifts the phone to his ear, his heart nearly jumping to his throat. He thinks of what he should say - hello? His own name? - and in the end, he says nothing.

There's rustling on the other end of the line, and then Hyungwon's voice.

" _Minhyuk?"_

Minhyuk swallows and leans against the kitchen counter. "Yes. It's me."

" _Oh_." A short break. " _That's... Good. Look, I- we need to talk."_

"Didn't we talk already?" Minhyuk asks. His own voice sounds strange to him - reserved, quiet. It was the same yesterday. He doesn't know how to act around Hyungwon anymore.

He wants to smile at him and tells him that he missed him, ask him to come back. He wants to, but he can't do that.

 _"We did_ ," Hyungwon says, " _but we need to talk properly. I think- maybe we should meet again."_

"Do you _want_ to meet again?"

" _Yes_." The answer is brief, but instant. Minhyuk's chest twists. " _Is tomorrow okay?_ "

"Tomorrow," Minhyuk repeats, and Hyungwon hums. Minhyuk hates how casual he sounds, how he seems like he's not nervous at all, how it's like they could be discussing about something useless like the weather. "Yeah."

" _Good_ ," Hyungwon says. There's more rustling, Minhyuk thinks he can hear someone talking in the background. It pulls at his nerves. Who is Hyungwon letting to be so close to himself when he's talking to Minhyuk? He wants to ask, but he doesn't. It's not his business anymore. " _Lunch time? There's this one restaurant I was thinking of. I can text the directions to you later today."_

 _So casual._ "Sure," Minhyuk says.

" _Good_ ," Hyungwon says again. Another, much longer, break. Minhyuk holds his own breath so he can hear Hyungwon's faint breathing through the speaker. It's calm, comfortable. It reminds Minhyuk of the times he woke up before Hyungwon and just spent long moments listening to his breathing. If he closes his eyes, he can almost feel the puffs of air on his cheek, or on his neck.

"So," he chokes out, "I'll see you tomorrow."

" _Minhyuk."_

 _Don't say my name like that._ "Yes?"

 _"I'm sorry_."

Minhyuk inhales deeply and lifts a hand to his face, pressing his palm against his forehead. The clock ticks. The groceries are still packed on the counter. The fridge door isn't open - Hyunwoo must have shut it at some point without Minhyuk noticing.

"Bye, Hyungwon," he says, and then he ends the call before he gets to change his mind. The way Hyungwon's name leaves his mouth, the way it tastes on the tip of his mouth, is strange.

He puts his phone down and starts unpacking the groceries.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uncle Hyungwon becomes dad.

The restaurant is nothing too fancy, but Minhyuk still somehow feels very out of place as he stands in the middle of the street and stares at the door.

A young couple comes out of the building, both of them laughing about something as they lean against each other. Their scents are mixed together so tightly Minhyuk barely can tell which one belongs to which one as they pass by him.

"Should we go to the movies tonight?"

"Sure. I'm choosing what we're watching this time, though."

"Hey, my taste isn't that bad!"

More laughter, and then their voices get lost somewhere in the crowd. Minhyuk's heart hurts. He wonders if those two know how good they have it.

There's a tiny sound of a bell ringing when he pushes the door open and steps inside. A waiter standing behind the counter lifts her head and smiles at him as a greeting, and he somehow manages to smile back. Somehow. It feels like every single muscle in his body has tensed up, preparing to swirl around and run, and he doesn't really know how to relax.

Hyungwon is sitting in the farthest booth to the left, leaning against the table with his elbow and his cheek pressed against the palm of his hand. He's staring out of the window - and if he has noticed Minhyuk stepping in he's not showing it. For a split second, Minhyuk thinks of actually turning around and leaving, but he forces himself to walk towards the booth instead.

 _It's for Hyungjun_ , he reminds himself, hiding his trembling hands in his pockets. _For Hyungjun._

He's halfway on his way when Hyungwon turns his head and meets his eyes across the room. His serious face falters for a brief moment, and he fixes his posture, straightening his back. Minhyuk directs his gaze to the floor to keep himself from showing any reactions.

Reaching the table, he sits down across from Hyungwon, eyes still downcast because he doesn't know what else to do. He promised himself earlier that he will handle this - _god_ , he practiced all the possible scenarios in his mind, thought of what to say, what to do, what to look like, but of course it's all gone now that Hyungwon is actually sitting in front of him.

"Hey," Hyungwon says, softer and gentler than Minhyuk had expected, and Minhyuk shoots his gaze up to look at him again. Their eyes meet.

"Hi," he replies, showing his hands deeper inside the cardigan's pockets. Hyungwon looks tired, exhausted, and Minhyuk knows he shouldn't feel guilty, but he does anyway.

Hyungwon cracks a small smile at his response and then takes a menu from the other end of the table and slides it in front of Minhyuk. "I think we should order first," he says.

Minhyuk isn't really feeling hungry, despite the fact that he has barely eaten at all today. He never feels like eating when he's nervous. However, they are in a restaurant, and it would be ridiculous to decline, so he just nods. As he runs his gaze over the list, he thinks that he should have asked Hyungwon to meet him somewhere else. He doesn't want to eat. He doesn't want to sit across from Hyungwon surrounded by people he doesn't know. He doesn't want it to look like a _date._ He just wants to talk and get it over with.

But he still says nothing, and when a waiter skids over to their table to take their orders, he picks the first thing his eyes stop at on the list and reads it out loud while forcing another smile. The waiter leaves, and the two of them sit in silence until another waiter arrives to bring them their food.

Somehow, Hyungwon even looks professional when he eats. Minhyuk steals glances at him while picking at his own food with his fork. He has really changed - he truly looks and acts like the heir of a famous high-class company. It must be the years he spent in America, actually taking care of the business.

Or maybe that's just how he's always been, since they are in public for other people to see. The two of them never really spent time like that before, sneaking around in the middle of the night and hiding in hotel rooms in the outskirts of Seoul. And somehow, back then, it had been okay, exciting even, because Minhyuk had been young, stupid and in love - and with both his parents gone and just a few, distant friends, there was no one beating sense into his head.

 _His parents._ He wonders what they would think if they knew where he was right now. Would they be happy with having a grandson?

"You're not eating," Hyungwon speaks up, interrupting his thoughts.

Minhyuk stops on his tracks, the fork still in his hand, and glances up at Hyungwon. The alpha is already staring back at him.

"I don't really feel like eating," he replies honestly.

"I know," Hyungwon says, and Minhyuk almost snorts and tells him _no, you don't know_ but he keeps quiet because he has to admit that it's true Hyungwon knows. Of course he does. He learned all of Minhyuk's moods and habits and small quirks years ago.

It's just that he shouldn't remember them anymore.

"You wanted to talk," Minhyuk says, dismissing the earlier topic of their conversation. Hyungwon hums, casual, like yesterday over the phone, and Minhyuk tears his gaze away from him.

"I've thought about things," Hyungwon starts, "about _everything_ , for the past few days. You know, tried to clear my head."

Minhyuk nods, staring down at his plate. He's been thinking a lot for the past few days too.

There's a child talking about something with an excited voice a few tables over. The two of them keep quiet for a while, as if to listen to her. Minhyuk almost finds himself smiling, but then Hyungwon says,

"Could you look at me?"

And Minhyuk does look at him - he lifts his head up and _really_ looks at him, so openly it somehow makes him feel vulnerable. Hyungwon looks back at him, serious but also so open, and for a moment Minhyuk believes that everything is going to be fine.

"I'm sorry," Hyungwon says. "I know I've apologized already, but I also know it's not enough. Minhyuk, I- I'll do whatever it is that you want me to do. Whatever you think is the best for you and Hyungjun."

Minhyuk blinks, the corner of his eyes suddenly burning, and slowly lets go of his fork. For a second, he thinks of reaching over with his hand to hold onto Hyungwon, but he swallows that thought and instead pulls his hand onto his lap.

Once again, he doesn't know what to say. What even is the best for him? For Hyungjun? What is best for him might not be best for Hyungjun. _But Hyungjun comes first._

"Maybe," he breathes out, "do you want to meet him again?"

"Of course I do," Hyungwon says, without hesitation.

"Today?"

"If that's fine with you."

Minhyuk takes a moment. "Yeah. It is."

"That's good," Hyungwon says softly. This time he's the one to break their eye-contact. "You should eat first, though."

Minhyuk doesn't protest.

  
  


 

 

 

 

 

  
Minhyuk's apartment is in a nice neighbourhood - not necessarily wealthy, but certainly one that seems ideal for children. Hyungwon can't help but to sit still on his seat for a moment even after parking his car, just staring at the view that lies before him behind the window.

He thinks back to the small, cramped flat Minhyuk used to share with three other people, sleeping on an old mattress without proper covers even though the heater always broke during winter. The hallways of the building reeked of cigarettes and the elevator didn't work. The guy living next door to Minhyuk and his roommates was a drug dealer.

As the two of them lied on a bed of one of those hotel rooms, Hyungwon had held Minhyuk's hand and promised that one day, he will buy them a house somewhere far away from Seoul, and Minhyuk had looked at him with his eyes shimmering, telling him _that was a promise, then._

Hyungwon is pretty sure he never kept a single one of those promises he gave to Minhyuk.

Minhyuk is the first one to get out of the car, and Hyungwon follows, snapping out his thoughts. He locks the doors of his car and follows Minhyuk to the building, not able to hide a smile when the omega eagerly greets an elderly lady at the door.

He guesses that after all, Minhyuk really hasn't changed that much.

"That friend of yours," Hyungwon speaks up when they are standing in the elevator, several inches of air in between them, "the one who's babysitting Hyungjun. Where do you know him?"

"Work," Minhyuk answers briefly. He has his arms crossed on his chest and eyes glued at the buttons to the side of the door. Hyungwon kind of expects for him to say something else, but they stand in silence for the rest of the ride.

He tries not to feel disappointed. _He has no right for that._

They get out of the elevator, Hyungwon tailing after Minhyuk as the omega makes his way to the closest apartment door. There he stops for a moment, as if hesitating, before pulling a key from his pocket and unlocking the door.

The two of them barely make it inside before Hyungjun emerges into the hall, screaming _mom_ as he latches himself on Minhyuk's leg.

Hyungwon doesn't know what to do, so he just stands there in front of the doorway, his other hand still holding onto the door handle somewhere behind himself. Hyungjun is babbling, some of the words pronounced funnily while some aren't really even words at all, and Hyungwon's chest aches.

And then Hyungjun lifts his head and sees him.

"Uncle Hyungwon," he exclaims, letting go of Minhyuk's leg only to grab the man's hand instead, "Mom! Is uncle Hyungwon your friend?"

Minhyuk glances back at Hyungwon, and then crouches down so he's on an eye-level with Hyungjun. "He's not your uncle, Hyungjun," he says, just like earlier in the café, gently running a hand through the boy's messy hair.

Hyungjun scrunches up his nose in confusion, but doesn't say anything as another alpha makes his way to the hall.

_Oh, right, Minhyuk's friend._

He's well-built, somewhere around Hyungwon's height, and has manly, handsome features. He has the exact looks of an alpha male, and Hyungwon suddenly feels very threatened, resisting the urge to step closer to Minhyuk and Hyungjun possessively.

"Is this him?" the man asks Minhyuk, nodding towards Hyungwon as if he was some kind of a object or an animal. He frowns.

"Yes," Minhyuk says, standing up. "Hyunwoo, I was thinking that you should maybe go out for a while."

"Of course," the man, Hyunwoo, says, ruffling Hyungjun's hair as he walks past the boy, Hyungjun grinning in response. Hyungwon barely has any time to react to that when the other alpha has already pulled his shoes on and is now standing in front of him, obviously trying to stare him down.

"You don't deserve them," he mutters with a low voice. Hyungwon's face doesn't waver - mostly because he already knows that. He stares back and says nothing.

"Hyunwoo," Minhyuk says, " _Please_."

And only then does Hyungwon move, stepping to the side so the other alpha can pass. Hyunwoo does as well, turning his head to look at Minhyuk.

"Fine," he says, and then adds, "I'll be at Changkyun's place. Call either of us if something comes up."

"I will," Minhyuk promises, and with one last warning glance directed at Hyungwon, the alpha leaves, shutting the door after himself.

"Take off your shoes," Minhyuk tells Hyungwon while doing so himself, and then heaves Hyungjun up to his arms, walking further inside the apartment. Hyungwon does as he was told and then follows after them, a little hesitant.

"This is a nice place," he says as he arrives to the living room, watching as Minhyuk takes a seat on the couch with Hyungjun still on his lap. There are toy cars and a few stuffed animals scattered around the floor, along with some children's books.

"I know," Minhyuk says, and then looks at him, gesturing at the spot beside himself at the couch. "Sit down."

Again, Hyungwon does as he was told, sitting down far enough so it's not uncomfortable for Minhyuk, but also close enough so it won't look too awkward. Hyungjun, who's been quiet for the past few minutes, now speaks up again.

"Uncle Hyungwon-"

"Hyungjun," Minhyuk interrupts him, firm but gentle, "I told you he's not your uncle. Don't call him that."

Hyungjun wrinkles his nose as he looks at the both of them, turning around in Minhyuk's lap so he's sitting there sideways, facing Hyungwon.

"Then what is he?" he asks.

Minhyuk looks at Hyungwon, hesitant, and Hyungwon nods at him. He wants to do something more for him, too - to reach over and place a hand on his shoulder, to pet his hair and to gently caress his face - but he knows he shouldn't, so he keeps still.

"Sweetie," Minhyuk says softly, waiting for Hyungjun to look up at him before continuing, "do you remember a while back when you asked mom about dad?"

Hyungjun nods. "My friends asked in the daycare where my dad is, and then I asked you, and you said he's _far_ away! I remember."

Something in Hyungwon's stomach drops and he looks away from the two for a short moment, the guilt building itself inside him again. _Hyungjun has already asked Minhyuk about him._

"Yeah," Minhyuk says. He stops for a moment, and when Hyungwon looks at him, he can see that he's trying not to cry.

 _I can't do this,_ Hyungwon thinks to himself, and then he moves a little closer to the two, actually reaching over with his hand to carefully place it on Minhyuk's shoulder.

Minhyuk tenses up immediately and glances at him, but he relaxes as fast as well, blinking the tears away from his eyes - and then he leans against the touch, just a tiny bit, and Hyungwon knows it's out of natural instinct because Minhyuk is claimed by him and basically _craves_ for his touch, but it still makes him feel warm and relieved.

He refuses to think of how Minhyuk has felt all those years, when even Hyungwon was struggling for not being able to have him close. He refuses to, for now. He can hate himself for that later.

"So," Minhyuk starts again, looking back at Hyungjun, "Would you like to meet dad, sweetheart?"

Hyungjun perks up at this, practically bouncing on Minhyuk's lap as he nods and says " _Yes_."

"Good," Minhyuk says, lowering his voice as he gently pats the boy's back and glances over to Hyungwon. "Because he's right there."

Hyungjun blinks, staring at Minhyuk for a few seconds before turning his head to look at Hyungwon instead, and then he exclaims, "Uncle Hyungwon is dad?"

Minhyuk sighs, but Hyungwon smiles before he can stop himself, carefully offering his free hand towards Hyungjun.

"That's right," he says, and Hyungjun blinks repeatedly before grasping onto his hand and basically stumbling off Minhyuk's lap, ending up on Hyungwon's instead.

"You're dad?" he asks, again, and Hyungwon nods, glancing over at Minhyuk before saying,

"Yeah. I am."

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family matters

Hyungjun warms up to Hyungwon in a way that leaves his chest aching.

He asks a lot of questions, but they are not accusing. He gets very excited when Hyungwon tells him that he was working in America, and then has him describe the foreign country to him for something that feels like ages. He's bubbly and talkative, _just like Minhyuk used to be_ , and he refuses to get off Hyungwon's lap when Minhyuk tries to get him to eat. In the end, Hyungwon carries him to the table and sits down with him until he has finished his plate. He gets some sauce on Hyungwon's new shirt and pants while shoving food into his mouth and trying to talk at the same time, but Hyungwon couldn't literally care less.

Minhyuk keeps his distance. He says something to Hyungjun every now and then, but most of the time he's sitting in the other end of the couch or the table, or even going to the bathroom to do laundry. Hyungwon doesn't know how to feel about that. He understands, though. They never really even talked about the two of them - about what they are now, or what they are going to be. If Minhyuk doesn't want to get close to him, then that's how it is. Hyungwon will respect that.

When it's three in the evening, Hyungwon decides he has to go. He doesn't want Minhyuk to feel uncomfortable or stay too long in a house that's not his.

"I should leave now," he tells Minhyuk, who is busy picking up toy cars from the floor. The omega lifts his head to look at him, blinking at him from under his fringe, and then nods.

"Where leave?" Hyungjun questions, still perched in his lap. Hyungwon takes a moment before telling him,

"Dad has to go home."

"But _here_ is home," Hyungjun says, his face crunched in confusion, and Hyungwon doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know how to explain such a thing to a three-year-old.

Minhyuk sees that. He gets up from the floor and walks over to them, taking a seat next to them on the couch. "It's not dad's home, sweetie," he says, honest but gentle, "he doesn't live here."

Hyungjun looks at Minhyuk, and then turns his head to look at Hyungwon. His eyes are glistening, lips turning pouty, and Hyungwon's heart twists painfully in his chest as he runs his fingers through the boy's hair. "Dad will come see you again soon," he says.

Hyungjun blinks up at him, "Promise?"

"Promise," Hyungwon says. Hyungjun climbs up, leans against his chest and presses a kiss at his cheek. Somehow, it makes Hyungwon want to both laugh and cry. He does neither, only smiling gently while petting Hyungjun's hair before lifting him over to Minhyuk's arms.

He leaves the apartment with another promise to call Minhyuk soon and then sits alone in his car for fifteen minutes deep in his thoughts before actually pulling away from the parking lot.

  
  


 

 

 

 

 

 

  
"There you are, love! We were just wondering where exactly you've been the whole day," his mother rambles as soon as Hyungwon steps his foot in the living room. She's sitting on the couch with her hair done up and holding a cup of tea. Hoseok and Kihyun are sitting on the other couch opposite from her. His father is nowhere to be seen - most likely still working.

"Oh," Hyungwon laughs, making his way over to them and sitting down next to his mother. "I was just meeting up with old friends."

"I see, you are still so overly popular," she coos, petting his cheek before pouring him a cup of tea as well. "I was hoping you'd be with a nice omega instead, though."

Hyungwon bites at the inside of his cheek. Of course, he thinks, of course it always has to come to this. He picks up the cup from the table and glances over at Hoseok, who looks back at him with an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, not quite," he says, taking a sip of his tea. Technically, he's lying. He was with Minhyuk the whole day, after all. However, his and his mother's criteria of a _nice omega_ really differ from each other, and Hyungwon knows that better than anyone.

"It's a shame," she says with a sigh, looking over at Hoseok and Kihyun, "it would be nice if the two of you had a double wedding. Your father especially thinks so."

"I bet that's just because two seperate weddings take too much time," Hoseok jokes, and Hyungwon snorts. Their mother rolls her eyes but ends up smiling anyway.

"We just want to see the both of you being happy," she says, adding, "and granchildren really wouldn't be a downside, you know. We are already getting old."

Hyungwon flinches, spilling the tea onto his pants, and he thinks, _fuck_. Three pairs of eyes stare straight at him as he places his cup onto the table and grabs a napkin to wipe at his pants. "I-" he breathes out, glancing at his mother, "isn't it still a little too early for that?"

"It's absolutely not, don't get so worked up!" She chirps, grabbing another napkin to wipe at his pants as well. Hyungwon feels like a child. He sees from the corner of his eye how Kihyun hides a smile while leaning against Hoseok's shoulder. "Like I said, your father and I are getting old. We are already in our fifties! I want to be surrounded by my beautiful grandchildren by the day I turn sixty."

Hoseok laughs. "Don't worry, mother. We still have plenty of time for that."

"Of course," she says, taking the napkin from Hyungwon's hands and placing the two onto an empty tray on the table. "And I'm sure you two won't take ages with that. Kihyun is already a natural mother," she coos, earning a soft smile from the said omega, "it's just Hyungwon I'm worried about."

"Mother," Hyungwon says, "you really don't need to do that."

"Why?" she asks immediately. "Have you already found someone?"

"I- no, that's not what I meant," Hyungwon sighs, rubbing at his forehead before turning properly to face her. Even though, actually, that's _exactly_ what he meant. "I just think there is no need to rush. I will get married and have children when it's the time for that."

His mother looks like she's still about to protest, but then Kihyun speaks up, humming with his gentle voice, "My father always says good things come when you least expect them. It certainly does no good to rush."

Hoseok beams at him, gently running his fingers through the omega's silver hair, and Hyungwon almost feels like doing the same out of pure gratefulness.

"Well," their mother sighs, obviously defeated by her future son-in-law, "that must be how it is. I'm just hoping it won't take too long."

"I'm sure it won't," Hyungwon says, about to get up from the couch to finally excuse himself, but she takes a firm grip of his shoulders and makes him sit back down.

"Oh no, sit down, I'll be taking the dishes to the kitchen - Kihyun sweetie, would you help me out a little?" She babbles, getting up on her own while gathering the dishes on one of the silver trays laid onto the table. Kihyun chimes in with a soft _of course_! and gets up as well, delicately piling up the small plates. As the two leave the room, Hyungwon definitely doesn't miss the pointed look their mother throws at Hoseok over her shoulder.

Ah, it's _that_ thing. _That_ thing where their parents shove all the lecturing onto Hoseok because they believe Hyungwon listens to him better than he listens to them. He feels like it's high school all over again - it's unbeliavable they still do this.

He looks over at his brother, and to his relief finds him looking just as uncomfortable as he's feeling right now. This shouldn't take long.

"Listen," Hoseok starts, and Hyungwon somehow manages to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he leans against the backrest and tells him to go on. "They really are _worried_ about you. I mean, I am too, after that - _that_ discussion a few days ago."

That discussion. Hyungwon thinks back to the evening at the garden and how he lashed out. It's only been a few days since, but it feels like forever. He's been so caught on Minhyuk and Hyungjun he has really lost his sense of time at the side.

"Are you _really_ still thinking about him?" Hoseok asks.

Hyungwon does roll his eyes this time, forcing the most dull look onto his face to appear unfazed. "I'm not, Hoseok."

A part of him wants to tell Hoseok about everything. About Minhyuk, about _Hyungjun_. However, this is not the right time nor the right place to do so, he needs to keep up his front.

"Then why are you so hesitant to move on and meet other people?"

"Well consider this," Hyungwon says, leaning forward now instead while looking Hoseok in the eye, "maybe I just have other things to do."

"You can do other things even if you are dating someone," Hoseok tells him, frowning, "I'm serious, Won. You know, I'm _so_ much happier with Kihyun than I was before. It's just- I want you to experience something like this as well."

 _We both know I've already experienced that with Minhyuk years ago,_ Hyungwon wants to say, but again, it's neither the right place nor time, and so he keeps his mouth shut. He straightens his back and takes a look around the living room, sighing.

"Yeah," he says, "maybe I'll experience it some day."

"Maybe," Hoseok repeats, obviously ready to protest, but quiets down as soon as Hyungwon looks at him.

"Enough of that," he says, "when are you and Kihyun getting married and moving out, anyway? I'm pretty sure you're really not going to wait until I find someone as well."

"Oh, yeah," Hoseok huffs, but smiles right after, and Hyungwon knows the new topic is more than welcome. "I'm not sure yet. Definitely this year, though. We've already looked at some venues and other things. I think Kihyun is pretty excited."

Hyungwon raises an eyebrow. "And you aren't?"

"Of course I am!" Hoseok splutters right away, almost looking offended at the fact that Hyungwon could say such a thing. "It's just - I don't know. He's so cute when he gets excited. We've looked at a few honeymoon suites already, too."

"Okay, well, I don't really need to know more details about that," Hyungwon says teasingly as he gets up from the couch. Hoseok throws a pillow at him. He dodges and it ends up falling onto the floor.

"Missed," he says, "loser."

"Shut up," Hoseok tells him, moving away from the couch to pick the cushion up from the floor. Hyungwon laughs and swirls around, finally successfully escaping upstairs to his own room.

He spends the two following hours shopping children's clothes online.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minhyuk struggles

The first thing Hyungjun says in the morning when Minhyuk wakes him up is, "Is dad coming today?" and Minhyuk tells him, honestly, that he doesn't know. He dresses him up, makes him brush his teeth and eat breakfast, and then walks him to daycare a few blocks away before catching a bus to leave for work. He meets Hyunwoo in the lobby and has a talk with him that last a tad too longer, ending with both of them being a minute late in their offices, and then tries dodging the usual questions about the two of them from their other workmates.

"Aw, come on, Minhyuk," one of them, an omega as well, says, "you can't keep telling us that you're constantly hanging out with a hot alpha and are just friends with him," and Minhyuk rolls his eyes, shooing her away while mumbling something about having to work now.

He checks his phone every five minutes, but there are no calls or texts from Hyungwon. When he later goes to pick Hyungjun up after work and the first thing the boy asks him is, "Do you yet know when dad is coming home?", he actually considers texting the alpha first himself, but decides against it.

But Hyungjun won't stop asking, and Minhyuk is _tired_ , with barely four hours of sleep from last night because he'd been too anxious to even close his eyes, silently crying in frustration with his head aching, because he _couldn't stop_ thinking about Hyungwon. And it's ridiculous, because things are getting better and Hyungwon is actually _there_ and said he wants to keep seeing Hyungjun, and everything should be easier, but somehow he feels like he's even in more pain than he was before.

Maybe it's the effect of having Hyungwon so close but still so distant from him.

Changkyun comes to visit in the evening, and Minhyuk nearly snaps at him for all kinds of unnecessary, small things, like for being a caring friend and asking him how he's feeling. _Nearly_. He keeps himself under control, but then Hyungjun accidentally knocks over a glass of milk while eating, and Minhyuk ends up bursting into tears, having to leave the room in the middle of cleaning up the mess.

He tells Changkyun he's _just stressed_ and _everything is okay_ when the beta tries consoling him, and he clearly doesn't buy it. He asks Minhyuk if he should take Hyungjun out for maybe some ice cream, and Minhyuk doesn't protest, but declines Changkyun's offer of calling Hyunwoo there.

"I just want to be alone for a while," Minhyuk tells him, and they both know _that's_ not the truth because what Minhyuk really wants is Hyungwon. Changkyun doesn't call him out for it and takes Hyungjun out just like he promised. Minhyuk takes a painkiller and shuts the lights in the living room before plopping down onto the couch. It's an uncomfortable position, but he's too exhausted to move, so he ends up falling asleep like that.

He wakes up to a sore neck and to the sound of someone ringing the doorbell around twenty minutes later, and he actually feels a tiny bit better. His headache is gone, at least, and it doesn't feel like he's going to start sobbing whenever any small inconvience happens.

The sound of the doorbell echoes in the apartment again, and he sits up groggily, rubbing his neck as his brain tries processing what's happening. He gave Changkyun the spare key when he left with Hyungjun, so unless the beta somehow ended up losing it, it can't be them.

_It must be either Hyunwoo or Hyungwon._

Minhyuk inhales deeply and gets up from the couch, scrambling around the apartment until he finds his phone on the kitchen counter. There are no calls, and the only message is from Changkyun, saying that he took Hyungjun to a new cat café downtown so it might take a while until they get back. It was sent eighteen minutes ago.

The doorbell rings again, impatiently cutting through the air, and Minhyuk nearly drops his phone in shock. _Okay_ , he tries assuring himself, _Hyungwon most likely won't come without calling or at least sending a text first. It's probably just Hyunwoo._

It doesn't really ease him, but he makes his way to the hall regardless, rubbing at his cheek while hoping he doesn't look like a total mess as he goes to unlock the door.

Hyungwon looks like he has come straight out of a fashion magazine, standing there in the narrow corridor, wearing a black suit with his hair pushed back. Minhyuk's stomach drops, because this isn't just _fair_ , for him to show up at his door unannounced and on top of that looking like _this_.

Hyungwon looks almost as shocked to see Minhyuk as Minhyuk feels to see him, as if he wasn't the one showing up in the first place. He stares at Minhyuk, his hands shoved deep inside his pockets, and Minhyuk wonders if he does it to hide the way they are trembling, as well.

"Hey," Hyungwon finally says, continuing before Minhyuk gets to answer, "I'm, I'm sorry I didn't call you to tell you that I'm coming, but I've been busy today and drove here when I got off work, and I...I thought I'd call you on the way but it seems I left my phone in my office."

Minhyuk blinks, still staring at Hyungwon as he takes everything in. _Oh_ , so he has his own office now. He really seems to be serious about this business thing. About taking over the company.

It's stupid, but somehow that makes Minhyuk feel envious.

He nods as some kind of a response and takes a step back from the doorway, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Hyungjun...isn't home right now, though," he tells the alpha, "Changkyun went to get ice cream with him. It might take a while for them to get back."

He says it as if he's implying Hyungwon should be leaving, but at the same time, he's still standing to the side to make room for Hyungwon to come inside, and he's not even sure himself what he exactly wants.

Hyungwon makes the decision for him.

"I could still stay, if that's just okay with you," he says, and Minhyuk still doesn't know how to deny him, so he just nods again and lets him step inside.

They end up in the kitchen, Hyungwon silently tailing after Minhyuk and taking a seat on one of the stools by the counter. Minhyuk mutters something about making some tea as he hustles around with the kettle, _anything_ to keep himself busy, _anything_ to keep himself from looking at Hyungwon for a moment too long.

The claim mark on his shoulder is itching.

"I was thinking," Hyungwon suddenly speaks up, and Minhyuk gives a quick glance at him over his shoulder in acknowledgment. He doesn't really trust his own voice enough to say something. "That guy, that...Hyunwoo."

Minhyuk stills for a second, and then reaches over to open one of the cabinets to grab two teacups from there. "What about him?" he asks.

Hyungwon doesn't respond right away, probably thinking of how to form his words, even though he most likely knows that Minhyuk knows what he wants to ask. Minhyuk lets him take his time, putting the cups down onto the counter and dropping teabags into them.

"Is he just a friend, or something more?"

"Just a friend," Minhyuk answers shortly. He's used to that exact question already - god forbid a single omega and a single alpha spending time with each other as friends.  _People are funny._

He pours hot water into the cups, adds two spoonfuls of sugar into his own, and then hesitates for a second before adding one into Hyungwon's as well. He just hopes his taste hasn't changed much over time.

"What about you?" Minhyuk asks as he brings the cups over to where Hyungwon is sitting, taking a seat on another stool next to him. It's close. Too close, probably, if Minhyuk were honest with himself, but right now, he's really not.

Hyungwon raises an eyebrow, swirling the spoon in his cup while looking at him. "What about me?"

Minhyuk blinks and looks away from his face, leaning against the counter with his elbows. Suddenly, he's not really even sure if he wants to know, but he asks anyway, "Are you dating anyone?"

He watches from the corner of his eye as Hyungwon brings to cup up to his mouth, blows, and then takes a sip. "I'm not," comes the answer afterwards.

It shouldn't be as big of a relief to Minhyuk as it actually is.

"I see," Minhyuk mutters softly, wrapping his fingers around the warmth of his cup as he tries to come up with something else to say. He doesn't really know what kind of things they are _allowed_ to speak of, where the line is drawn. Most of the time it's been Hyungwon who talks first, anyway.

Funny. Hyungwon always used to joke around about how Minhyuk was so talkative, so loud, how he could start conversations from literally anything and just couldn't shut up. Minhyuk hasn't really thought about that a lot, too busy observing Hyungwon that he didn't even notice that maybe he himself has changed, as well.

He wonders if Hyungwon thinks of these kinds of things, too, or if he even cares.

Minhyuk is yanked from his thoughts as Hyungwon's knee suddenly brushes against his underneath the counter, light and fast but burning, and he flinches, almost spilling his tea as he struggles to act like a normal person.

He hates this. Hyungwon shouldn't have this kind of an effect on him anymore, not even with the claim mark on his shoulder. Minhyuk shouldn't be craving for his touch so much. He shouldn't.

He shouldn't, but the feeling of Hyungwon's hand on his shoulder from yesterday won't leave him, alluring and inviting, and Minhyuk has always been weak. He turns his head to look at Hyungwon, and the alpha looks back at him, and of course he reads Minhyuk like an open book, carefully lifting up his hand to caress Minhyuk's jaw.

The touch sends unutturable feelings straight down Minhyuk's spine, squeezing inside his chest, and he has to hold his breath in order to stop himself from doing something he'd eventually regret. He wants to lean into the touch, he wants to tell Hyungwon to hold him properly, and he most certainly just wants to cry again because he doesn't know what else to do with the sudden burst of emotion, but somehow, he manages to stay put. _Somehow_.

But Hyungwon is looking at him, and his touch is just as gentle and warm as Minhyuk remembered, and he whispers Minhyuk's name with the softest, most beautiful voice, and the tears are brimming Minhyuk's eyes before he gets to stop them.

He has missed Hyungwon, _god_ , he has missed him so much it feels like he has trouble breathing, and all he wants right now is to be in his arms, to be pressed so close that he doesn't know where the lines between their bodies lie, wants to hold and be held and simply just have Hyungwon _close_ to him-

There's the sound of the front door opening, followed by Hyungjun and Changkyun's chattering, and Minhyuk blinks as Hyungwon draws his hand away and takes all of his magic with him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an early update because there's been so much hyunghyuk lately and idk how to function so i'm just pouring all my feelings into writing

"I- what's all this?" Minhyuk questions, staring at the three plastic bags Hyungwon left onto the floor before crouching down to untie his shoes.

"For Hyungjun," Hyungwon replies, putting his shoes to the side before standing up. He hesitates a little before looking at Minhyuk and adding, "clothes, and toys, and stuff. I wasn't really sure what he likes, so I..." he trails off, awkwardly shifting his weight from one feet to another.

Minhyuk doesn't say anything, still looking at the bags instead of returning Hyungwon's stare, an unreadable expression on his face. Hyungwon doesn't know what to do - if he should say something else, or go further inside, or just grab the bags and shove them on Minhyuk's arms.

He doesn't get to do any of that, since Hyungjun suddenly emerges to the hall from the bathroom, screaming _dad_ with all his might before latching himself on Hyungwon's leg. A smile rises on Hyungwon's face automatically, and he forgets about the moment of awkwardness for a second as he leans down to pick Hyungjun up into his arms. "Hey, baby. What's up?"

It's Saturday - it's been over a week since Hyungwon met Minhyuk and Hyungjun in the mall. It feels almost surreal. Hyungwon has visited the two three times over the past week, struggling on the other days while staying home since he'd honestly go there every day if he just could.

But he can't. He must give Minhyuk his space. Even if Hyungjun already acts as if Hyungwon has always been a part of his life, the relationship between him and Minhyuk hasn't made any process. Minhyuk keeps his distance whenever Hyungwon visits, drawing back into himself like a wounded animal, and Hyungwon doesn't know what to _do_. They probably should talk about it, but there's never any time for that, because it's not like they spend time alone without Hyungjun.

There was that time, though - when Hyungwon showed up unannounced and Minhyuk was alone at home. That time, when Minhyuk let Hyungwon touch him, caress his chin with his hand, and it was-

Hyungwon wishes he could do that more often.

"We went to a trip with daycare aunties yesterday and I got strawberry cake!" Hyungjun exclaims, clinging onto Hyungwon's shoulders, and Hyungwon smiles at him again.

"Yeah? Was it good?"

"It was! But I like chocolate cake more." Hyungjun says. His eyes are shimmering, and Hyungwon's heart dwells inside his chest. "Dad, can we go eat chocolate cake together? With mom too?"

Hyungwon blinks and glances over at Minhyuk, who's still avoiding looking at him. He bites at his lower lip before looking at Hyungjun and smiling at him again. "Yeah, of course," he says, "some day."

Hyungjun beams at him, and then twists his body a little, also spotting the bags left onto the floor, "What those?"

"Oh, right," Hyungwon says, crouching down to let Hyungjun back to his own feet onto the floor. He tries looking at Minhyuk again, and actually meets his eyes for a moment before the omega looks away again.

He's acting more reserved than usual. Hyungwon frowns for a moment, before forcing the smile back to his face and beckoning Hyungjun closer to the bags. "I brought some surprises for you. You can open them, they're all yours."

Hyungjun blinks at him, a wide grin making its way on his face, "all of them? Really?"

"Really," Hyungwon says, and Hyungjun screeches _thank you_ in joy before attacking the bags, hesitating for a moment which one to check first before going for the biggest one. Hyungwon smiles fondly and gets up from the floor.

Hyungjun pulls a big toy figure out of the bag, screaming, "Mom, look!" and that's when Minhyuk seems to finally snap out of his trance, looking at him.

"That's...that's very cool, Hyungjunnie," he says, and Hyungjun beams at him before returning to the bag.

It takes almost ten minutes for him to go through everything Hyungwon brought him, showing every little thing to Minhyuk before moving onto the next one. Minhyuk's responses get more lively with each item, and in the end he laughs when Hyungjun starts carrying everything to his own room, babbling something about how he needs to find a place for all of them.

Hyungwon's heart flutters in his chest at the sound of his laughter, his breath getting caught in his throat and feet getting stuck to the floor as he stares, his mind going blank.

Minhyuk seems to notice his current state, as he turns his head to look at him, staring quietly for a moment before asking, "what is it?"

"Nothing," Hyungwon breathes out, shoving his hand in his pocket and firmly gripping the small box he put there earlier before leaving home. _Should he_ , right now? It seems like the best moment, with Hyungjun disappeared into his own room for a moment, and Minhyuk standing right _there_ , looking at him. "I...I actually got something for you, too."

Minhyuk blinks, his mouth falling open a tiny bit as he stares at Hyungwon. "For _me_?" he repeats, disbelief evident in his soft voice.

"Yeah," Hyungwon says, pulling the box out of his pocket and offering it towards Minhyuk. He hopes the omega doesn't notice the way his hand is trembling. "It's nothing big, but I- I mean, I wanted to get you _something."_

_Please take it._

Minhyuk's gaze drops down at the box, and then even more downwards, and he sighs. "Hyungwon, I don't need-"

"Please," Hyungwon interrupts him, stepping a tad bit closer, "I got it for _you_. Take it."

Minhyuk still looks hesitant, but then he slowly lifts his hands, taking the box from Hyungwon with careful movements.

"Thank you," he says.

"Don't mention it," Hyungwon says, bringing his hands down to shove them back inside his pockets. "Please, open it."

Minhyuk does that, carefully clicking the lid of the box open, chewing on his bottom lip as he does so. He stares at the insides for several, long and depressing moments, before closing the lid, blinking rapidly. "Hyungwon," he breathes out, "I _can't_ take this. Please, just..." he attempts giving the gift back to Hyungwon, but the latter doesn't waver.

"No," he says, "you can."

"The label reads it's _real gold_ , Hyungwon, I can't."

"I told you it's nothing big," Hyungwon tells him. His heart is beating inside his chest as he takes another, tiny step closer to Minhyuk, hesitantly slipping his hands out of his pockets to cover the box and Minhyuk's own hands with them.

Minhyuk stiffens, snapping his head up to look at Hyungwon, and there are _tears_ in his eyes as he does so.

Hyungwon falls completely speechless, forgetting what he was about to say or if he even was about to say anything at all. The tips of Minhyuk's fingers are cold under his hands, and Minhyuk is still staring at him, on the verge of crying.

"Minhyuk-"

"No," Minhyuk whispers, carefully pulling his hands free from Hyungwon's hold and removing his gaze from him. He keeps the box in his hands. "I'll... I'll take it then. Thank you, Hyungwon."

" _Minhyuk_ -"

"Thank you," Minhyuk repeats, turning his back to Hyungwon and making his way inside the bathroom. There's a click of a lock before Hyungwon gets to follow him.

When he fifteen minutes later comes to the living room where Hyungwon is playing with Hyungjun, there are no traces of tears, and he's wearing a thin golden chain on his wrist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
Hyungwon gets pulled out of his thoughts by an urgent knock on the door.

He blinks, straightening his back and opening his laptop to make it seem like he was actually doing something, before calling out, "Come in."

The door creaks open and his secretary butts her head inside, her glasses perched on the tip of her nose. "The president is here," she says, "he'd like to see you."

Hyungwon raises an eyebrow. His father actually coming to his office instead of calling him to go to his own instead? This is new.

 _New_ is rarely anything good when it comes to his father.

"Let him in," he says. She gives a quick nod and then disappears behind the door, some mumbling heard afterwards.

His father marches in with a big grin on his face, closing the door behind him before saying, "Good evening, son."

Oh, no, Hyungwon definitely doesn't have a good feeling about this.

"Good evening." He clears his throat and gets up from his seat, making his way in front of the desk. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I have some good news for you," the older alpha says, striding over to the couch to the right of Hyungwon's desk. He makes himself comfortable there, taking his time as he crosses his arms over his chest and takes a look around the room before saying, "I had quite a long chat with an old friend of mine - Choi Hyunsoo, I believe you've met him before. A good man, really successful. We were thinking of making a contract to keep our companies in good relations."

Hyungwon nods. He has a small memory of the said man - remembers meeting him a few times when he was younger. "That sounds good, father," he says, carefully, "but why are you so eager to tell this to me?"

"He has an omega daughter," the older man says, and something in Hyungwon's stomach drops. "A few years younger than you, really sweet and clever. I've met her before. They've been looking for a spouse for her, and we were thinking-"

"Father," Hyungwon interrupts him, "I _know_ what you have planned, and I'm sorry, but you know that won't work out."

His father sighs, giving him a firm look. "We've talked about this, Hyungwon," he says. "You need to open your eyes already. This contract is really important for us. Besides, you haven't even _met_ her. I believe you would really take a liking to her if you just gave it a chance."

"Father, I've met several of your friends' sons and daughters before, and it has never worked out," Hyungwon says, his frustration arising - he had thought this topic was already over. "Why won't you let me marry who I want to? Both, you and mother, you are just constantly pushing me-"

"You're twenty-three years old, Hyungwon, you must take some responsibility. I don't understand why you're complaining so much. Just look at Hoseok and Kihyun."

"But I'm _not_ Hoseok," Hyungwon rises his voice, "I don't need you comparing the two of us. I know you think he's the perfect son no matter what he does, but-"

"That's not true," his father interrupts, getting up from the couch, "your mother and I are just proud of him for establishing what he wants in life. It's-"

"Yeah, see, what _he wants_ ," Hyungwon snaps. He can already feel an incoming headache and if it wasn't for the fact that this was his office, he would just walk out and leave. "You never once complained when he said he wants to study medicine instead of taking over the company. What if I had done the same? That just _wouldn't_ have been okay, would it? And all the people he dated before-"

"So _that is_ what this is all about," his father interrupts again. Hyungwon shuts up, balling his hands into fists by his sides while feeling like a rebellious teenager all over again. "That boy."

"Who?" Hyungwon asks, even though he clearly knows who he's talking about.

"The omega you used to sneak around with when you were younger," the older says with a deep sigh, "the low-class one. What was his name, Minhyuk? Are you still stuck on that-"

" _No_ ," Hyungwon says, "I am not, and it isn't what this is about."

"In that case, I really can't see why you would oppose the idea of getting married so much. Except, if you have found another one like him."

"There is _no one_ , father."

"Then it's settled," his father says, pinching the bridge of his nose while turning around and walking over to the door. Hyungwon stares after him wordlessly. "Hyunsoo and I were thinking of arranging the meeting for this Wednesday. I will be telling the further details to you later on."

"Father-"

"If you care about our reputation even a little, you will be there, Hyungwon."

The door opens and goes shut again, and Hyungwon is left alone.

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What matters the most 
> 
> (and, thank god Jooheon is a reliable friend)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoot out third win!!!!! i'mxcrying i'm so proud, here's a new chapter to celebrate

_Minhyuk is breathing softly, just now fallen asleep after coming down from his heat even though it's already past five in the morning. His cheek is pressed against Hyungwon's shoulder, with an arm draped across Hyungwon's chest and a leg thrown over Hyungwon's own. His skin is still hot, burning under Hyungwon's touch as the alpha gently draws circles on his shoulder with his fingers._

_He stops as he reaches the fresh bitemark on the omega's shoulder, still an aggressive mix of red and purple, and hesitates for a moment before brushing at it gently. Minhyuk stirs, letting out a small whine in his sleep while nuzzling against Hyungwon's neck, and the latter draws his hand away._

_The sun is already rising outside, and Hyungwon kind of wants to get up to properly close the curtains, but at the same time, he really doesn't want to leave Minhyuk onto the bed on his own, even if it's just for that short while._

_He thinks he doesn't want to let go of Minhyuk ever again._

_He knows that eventually, he has to. He knows that there's a limit to how long he can lie to his parents that he's sleeping over at Jooheon's place, even if it's summer and he should be free to go around as he pleases. His parents are nosy and think it's better if he spends his free time helping with the company instead of running around with his friends. It's always been that way._

_But Minhyuk is here right now, pressed against his side, covered in Hyungwon's scent with Hyungwon's claim mark on his shoulder, and Hyungwon decides that's all that matters to him right now. That even if he'll have to let go way too soon, he'll cherish every moment that comes beforehand, hold onto Minhyuk with all his might until every muscle in his body is aching._

_He doesn't sleep that night. There comes an hour when his eyelids feel heavy and his grip on Minhyuk's shoulder slips several times, but he forces himself to stay awake, and soon the exhaustion leaves again. He doesn't get up from the bed, doesn't even reach over to the nightstand to grab his phone - he lies awake, holding onto Minhyuk and listening to his steady breathing for five full hours, until he stirs again and opens his eyes._

_"You're awake," is the first thing the omega says, looking up at him in wonder. Hyungwon goes to smile, only to realise he's already been doing that the entire time. His cheeks are aching._

_"Yeah," he says, "I am."_

_"Strange," Minhyuk says, giggling groggily as Hyungwon rolls his eyes at him. "What? You never wake up before me."_

_Hyungwon decides not to tell him that he never fell asleep in the first place. Minhyuk's eyes are crinkling up prettily, lighting up the room along with the Sun, and Hyungwon kind of wants to kiss him._

_And he does, rolling the two of them over so he's on top of Minhyuk, holding himself up by his elbows as he leans down to press their lips together. Minhyuk laughs against his mouth, a bubbly, pure sound, and Hyungwon swallows it, gently nibbling at the softness of his lower lip._

_Minhyuk brings his hands up to Hyungwon's cheeks, gently cradling his face as he responds to the kiss, still sleepy and slow and everything Hyungwon could ask for. Their teeth clash together, and they both laugh, pulling apart just a little to properly breathe._

_"You're acting so weird," Minhyuk says, pinching Hyungwon's cheek with his fingers. Hyungwon wrinkles his nose at him. "I'm not complaining, though."_

_"You say that as if I never give you any attention," Hyungwon says. Minhyuk smiles at him in response, but doesn't say anything. Hyungwon watches how he brings his hand down to clasp at his own shoulder instead, covering the bitemark._

_"Does it hurt?" he asks softly, forehead pressed against Minhyuk's. The omega shakes his head lightly._

_"No," he whispers, blinking up at him and smiling again, "it's...it feels good."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Of course I am."_

_"Good," Hyungwon says, pressing a kiss on the tip of his nose before sitting up in between Minhyuk's legs._

_"God, you really are so weird," the omega laughs, twisting his body to escape the light swat Hyungwon directs at his bare chest._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
"It's today," Hyungwon mutters, his phone pressed in between his ear and shoulder as he grabs a black tie from his wardrobe, "in like an hour. I'm just getting ready. And- listen, I know I should handle this on my own, but I honestly don't know what the _fuck_ to do anymore. I've tried everything, Jooheon."

Hyungwon has passed the past few days in a weird daze, not really recalling properly what he has even done. He hasn't met Minhyuk and Hyungjun after Saturday. He feels guilty, somehow. The guilt is even worse now that he's all dressed up to go for the dinner his father organized.

 _"Well first off, calm down,"_ Jooheon says, his voice a little muffled on the other end of the line, _"can't you just do what you always did when this happened before? You know, just go there and then tell your parents you two just didn't match?"_

"I told you they're all serious about it this time around," Hyungwon sighs, grabbing the phone with his hand instead and slumping down onto his bed. "I'm pretty sure they're going to need a better reason than the two of us just _not matching_."

Jooheon huffs, rustling with something before speaking up again, _"Maybe you should just tell them."_

"Maybe I should _what_?"

 _"I didn't mean_ everything _. Just, you know, that you're seeing someone. Tell them it's still so early you won't have them meeting him yet."_

Hyungwon stops to ponder for a moment, dragging his fingers through his hair. "They'll still want to know about him," he says, "his name, his family, his status, whatever. You know my parents, Jooheon. They won't buy that."

 _"Yeah, I know,"_ Jooheon sighs, _"but I don't really know what else to say. Maybe just, I don't know, don't go at all?"_

"They would _kill_ me," Hyungwon says pointedly. "I'm not even kidding. It's not just about the marriage thing, it also involves the business. I would fuck up big time if I didn't show up."

 _"Well shit, man, I can't really help you with this,"_ Jooheon says, quickly continuing before Hyungwon gets to say anything, _"maybe you'll get lucky and the girl is actually a terrible person and even your parents hate her."_

Hyungwon smiles a little at that. "Yeah, I wish," he says, rubbing at his neck while glancing up at the clock hanging on top of his bed's headboard. "I guess... I have to go now."

 _"Good luck,"_ Jooheon tells him, and then there's a long beep, indicating that he ended the call. Hyungwon sighs, tossing the phone down onto his bed before grabbing the tie again to make himself look a little more presentable in his suit.

He wonders why he's even doing that. Maybe he should show up looking like a total mess so he would just simply scare the omega and her parents away. He would've at least been there but he still wouldn't need to face any kinds of arranged marriage problems.

His parents wouldn't be too happy with that, though.

Grimacing, he grabs his phone and leaves the room, switching the lights off as he goes. He should've never tried to take on the role of a perfect son, even less the role of a perfect heir. It's much harder to get rid of it now than if he'd started rebelling at a young age.

He greets a maid on his way towards the staircase, nodding his head at her, and she goes to bow at him, her arms full with laundry.

He's half-way down the stairs when his phone vibrates with a new message. Expecting it to be something from Jooheon or maybe either one of his parents reminding him of the meeting, he ignores it until he has gotten out of the house and into his car.

It's not Jooheon, nor his mother or father.

 

**_Minhyuk_ **

_i had to take hyungjun to hospital. it's probably just a stomach flu and nothing serious and i know you're busy, but we would appreciate it if you came._

  
_Hyungwon's heart drops to his stomach._

He stares at his phone screen, his other hand gripping the steering wheel as he reads the message over and over again, his eyes jumping in between the lines until it's all just a blurry mess and he has to lift his head and take a deep breath to calm himself down. It's _nothing serious_ , he reminds himself, taking one last look at the message before tossing his phone onto the passenger seat.

It's _nothing serious,_ but it's the first time Minhyuk is the one to contact him, and he doesn't know what to make out of that. Minhyuk has still been so distant, drawing away from him, not really sharing a word with him on Saturday after wearing the bracelet Hyungwon got him.

But he _wore_ it, and he reached out to Hyungwon first, asking him to go to the hospital. And Hyungjun is there. Hyungwon's stomach churns at the thought of his small son wrapped in the white covers of a big hospital bed, and the image of Minhyuk sitting there with him-

He heaves a sigh and picks up his phone again, dialing Jooheon's number. The beta picks up almost immediately.

_"Dude, what-"_

"Change of plans," Hyungwon tells him, "if someone asks, you got into hospital today, and I was your emergency contact."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
Minhyuk is close to panicking.

He's bouncing his legs and biting at his nails as he sits by Hyungjun's bed, his eyes unfocused but not leaving his son. Hyungjun is sleeping, peaceful but awfully pale, and Minhyuk _hates_ this. Children don't belong in hospitals. Hyungjun doesn't belong in an hospital. It looks unnatural, terrifying and just plain _wrong_.

Hyungjun will get to go home tonight, though. Dehydration and low blood sugar, they told him - the consequences of the stomach flu after Hyungjun kept puking last night and refused to eat and drink for the whole day. Minhyuk thinks it's his fault. He should have tried harder instead of just giving up with trying to feed Hyungjun after the boy threw a tanthrum, pushing the bowl of soup to the floor from the table. Why didn't he? _God_ , Hyungjun is only three years old and Minhyuk still isn't able to even take care of him properly, nearly breaking down at the smallest inconveniences. He's the _worst_.

And he even texted Hyungwon. Logically thinking, Hyungwon deserves to know if his son is in the hospital, but the fact that he is there is still Minhyuk's fault and if he had done differently then this wouldn't have happened and he wouldn't need to bother Hyungwon.

He reaches over to brush Hyungjun's cheek with his hand, and then slumps back on his chair, dropping his gaze down to his lap. The golden chain on his wrist seems to be judging him, and he pulls his sleeve down to hide it. He wonders if Hyungwon will even come.

The door opens, and in steps the nurse who checked up on Hyungjun earlier. She gives him a polite smile and gestures to the hallway behind herself. "Your mate is here," she tells him.

Minhyuk's mind goes blank. The very first reaction to her words is, _I don't have a mate,_ and then he's blinking rapidly and getting up from the chair as Hyungwon steps inside.

"Hey," the alpha breathes out, his clothes wrinkled and the tie on his neck crooked, his cheeks flushing as if he'd been running, "I came as fast as I could after seeing your message."

"Oh," Minhyuk ends up responding, standing uselessly in the middle of the small room. The nurse strides past Hyungwon to go check on Hyungjun, and Minhyuk tears his gaze away from Hyungwon to focus on his son.

"Mom," Hyungjun whines, waking up from his slumber, and Minhyuk slumps back to the chair next to the bed and grabs his hand.

"I'm right here," he whispers, sharing a look with Hyungwon over his shoulder. "Dad is here too."

Hyungjun's eyes visibly light up at that, and Minhyuk's heart aches in something between relief and love as Hyungwon walks over to the bed, leaning over Minhyuk's shoulder to brush Hyungjun's cheek. "Hi, buddy," he says.

Hyungjun grins at him, and lets the nurse do her examinations without any protests. Minhyuk spends the next minutes with his attention drifting from his son to the way Hyungwon is calmly breathing at the side of his neck.

 

 

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is a family?

"I can give you a ride."

Minhyuk snaps his head up to look at him, his arms wrapped around Hyungjun as the boy rests against his shoulder, half-asleep. "No need to," he says softly, "I can just get a cab."

Hyungwon sighs, shoving his hands in his pockets while taking a look around the parking lot surrounding the hospital. He knows it's easy - and pretty cheap - to get a cab near the hospital area to get home, and he also knows he should be getting home as soon as possible judging by all the missed calls from his parents, and taking Minhyuk and Hyungjun home is going to add at least forty minutes to his route.

He takes another look at the two - at Hyungjun's closed eyes and the white beanie that's slightly too big for him, at Minhyuk's exhausted face and the way he holds onto their son - and says, "It's no big deal. Let me drive you home."

Minhyuk looks like he's going to protest further, chewing on his lower lip while staring at Hyungwon, but instead he just sighs and says, "Fine."

Hyungwon relaxes his shoulders in relief and smiles a little, slipping his keys out of his pocket while nodding to the direction of his car. "It's right there."

Minhyuk gives him a nod in response and follows him across the parking lot. Hyungwon glances at him every now and then. He kind of wants to reach over and maybe put a reassuring hand on his arm or back, to have the two of them walk next to each other instead of Hyungwon one step ahead, or maybe ask if he wants to hand Hyungjun over for Hyungwon to carry.

In the end, he does none of that, and they reach the car in silence. Hyungwon unlocks the doors and opens the one for the passenger seat, shooting a hasty look at Minhyuk's direction.

"I don't have a children's seat," he says, "maybe you should hold him for the ride."

Minhyuk nods wordlessly again and carefully sits down inside of the car, shielding Hyungjun's head with his hand as he does so. Hyungwon shuts the door after them and circles to the other side of the car, sliding to the driver's seat. And, instead of starting the engine right away, he leans back on his seat and looks at Minhyuk.

It's already dark outside, and the street lamps lighting up the parking lot along with all the white noise from the streets somehow feels almost comfortable. Hyungwon thinks back to the rare times he'd go out with both his parents and Hoseok when they were kids, the two of them perched in the backseat together, street lights illustrating the otherwise dark car every now and then as their father drove back to their home after a visit to relatives or a dinner in a restaurant, their mother sitting on the passenger seat.

It was so simple, an every-day thing for a lot of children, but it was always special for Hyungwon, spending _normal_ time with his family.

Minhyuk turns his head to look at him, his eyebrow raised in a silent question. Hyungwon drops his gaze down to Hyungjun's face instead, at the way his cheek is pressed against Minhyuk's shoulder as he breathes steadily, and he carefully brings his hand up to brush at the boy's cheek with his thumb. Hyungjun wrinkles his nose a little at the contact, but doesn't wake up.

"Hyungwon," Minhyuk speaks up, quiet and soft, and Hyungwon's heart clenches. He draws his hand away from Hyungjun and grabs one of Minhyuk's hands instead. The omega tenses up for a short moment, looking at him in confusion, but doesn't pull away.

"I'm sorry," Hyungwon says. He holds tighter onto Minhyuk's hand and inhales deeply before repeating, "I'm sorry. Minhyuk, _god_ , I'm so-"

"It's alright," Minhyuk interrupts. Hyungwon shuts his mouth and lets him fidget with their hands, slowly and carefully, until their fingers are intertwined.

It's right there and then that it _really_ hits Hyungwon.

Sitting in his car in the dark at nine in the evening, his fingers laced with Minhyuk's and Hyungjun sleeping on Minhyuk's lap, it _really_ finally hits Hyungwon that these two, _they_ are his _family_.

He only realizes there are tears forming in his eyes when Minhyuk squeezes his hand lightly and says, again, with a hushed voice, "it's alright, Hyungwon."

_I love you_ , Hyungwon wants to say, _I love both of you, so much._

He doesn't do that. Instead, he pulls away and wipes at his eyes with the back of his hand, mutters another apology and something about being exhausted and starts the car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
"Where have you been?"

Hyungwon bites at his cheek and stops at the dining room's doorway, turning around to face his parents. They're both seated at the table facing the door, the table cleared and empty.

"I already told you," he says slowly, "at the hospital. With Jooheon."

"For four hours?" his father asks. There's a blank expression on his face, his voice controlled and calculated, and Hyungwon knows it's even worse than yelling. "He couldn't have survived alone? Or had anyone else come over?"

"He's my best friend, father. And you know his parents live overseas."

"And _you know_ how important today's meeting was for us," his father barks, finally getting up from his seat. "We raised you better than this. How am I going to hand the company over to you when you're still behaving like a stupid, reckless teenager?"

"Your father is right," his mother says, though staying seated. "I understand you were concerned for Jooheon, but you could've handled the situation better. I'm disappointed."

Hyungwon heaves back a sigh and grits his teeth together, crossing his arms. "If you want me to put the company before the people I love, I'm going to abandon the role of the heir right at this instant."

"Hyungwon," his mother hisses from between her teeth. He raises an eyebrow at her and turns to his father, the older alpha obviously trying to remain his calm.

"I'm not going to listen to this," the man says after a moment of silence, wiping his hands on the front of his suit while shooting Hyungwon a sharp look. "You do _not_ talk to me or your mother like this, and you do _not_ disrespect your duties ever again. I'm _not_ asking you anymore, Hyungwon. You will do as I say, if you still want me to call you my son in the future."

Then he's gone, walking out of the other door in the dining room. Hyungwon's mother follows after him, not sparing a glance at her son as she goes.

Hyungwon stays still on the doorway and stares at the empty table for several minutes before turning around to walk to his room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
Minhyuk slips out of Hyungjun's room, leaving the door half-open after himself as he pads his way down the short hallway. He stops in front of the island separating the kitchen and the living room and leans against it with his elbows, staring at the alpha filling up the dishwasher.

"You didn't have to come, Hyunwoo."

"I know," Hyunwoo says, shutting the dishwasher and clicking it on before straightening his back. There's a light smile on his face as he turns around and faces Minhyuk. "I just wanted to."

Minhyuk smiles a little in response, trying not to look as tired as he feels as he walks to the other side of the kitchen island and wraps his arms around Hyunwoo's shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. "We take up so much of your time," he mutters, his face pressed against the alpha's shirt, "you should live a little for yourself, you know. Go out, do things you want to do, find a nice omega, or a beta, whatever."

"I'll do that when it's time," Hyunwoo says, wrapping his arms around Minhyuk's waist and pulling him closer. "You two aren't holding me back or anything, Minhyuk. Don't think like that. I'm happy to spend time with you."

Minhyuk kind of wants to protest, but he decides not to, humming his response instead while leaning against Hyunwoo. He's always felt like Hyunwoo's hugs are somehow _magical_ , comforting and warm in the midst of the tiring every-day life.

Maybe it's just his instincts. That because his body can't have that kind of contact with the alpha who has claimed him, it seeks comfort in another. Is that fucked up? He thinks it is. He doesn't want to think of Hyunwoo as a replacement.

"I think you should go to bed," Hyunwoo whispers. Minhyuk wrinkles his nose.

"I'm fine."

"Didn't say weren't," Hyunwoo answers, crouching down a little to hook an arm under Minhyuk's legs and hoisting him up bridal style. Minhyuk blinks and grasps at his shoulders.

"Hyunwoo-"

"No protesting," Hyunwoo hushes him, circling around the island to carry him out of the kitchen and down the hallway, all the way to his bedroom. Minhyuk keeps his mouth shut and lets him do as he wants. He _does_ need to go to bed, anyway. Thank god he already took a shower.

"There," Hyunwoo mutters, carefully lowering him down to the bed. Minhyuk lets go of his shoulders and plops down against the sheets, rubbing at his eyes with both his hands while suppressing a yawn.

"Thanks," he mutters softly. "You-"

"I'll take the couch," Hyunwoo says, and Minhyuk gets a _very_ familiar sense of déjà vu. He lifts his head just a little to watch as the alpha strides over to his wardrobe and grabs a spare pillow from there, along with a blanket.

"Are you sure?" he asks. Hyunwoo looks at him over his shoulder and gives him an amused smile.

"I'm sure," he says, walking over to the door. "I'll turn the lights off for you."

"Okay," Minhyuk mutters, turning to his side to face the door properly. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Hyunwoo says, reaching over to switch the lights off. He gives one last look at Minhyuk over his shoulder before whispering, "good night," and stepping out of the room. He leaves the door a tad bit open.

Minhyuk presses his face against a pillow and mumbles _good night_ into the empty room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i joined tumblr > reckless-shootout


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyungwon is home

"Dad, what's your favorite colour?"

"My favorite colour?" Hyungwon repeats, and Hyungjun nods eagerly. He's a lot more energetic than yesterday, looking as if he's already fully recovered as he sits on the floor surrounded with paper and markers. Hyungwon doesn't think he's ever been so relieved to see someone look so well. "Well, I like red."

Hyungjun's eyes go round, and then he laughs. "Mom's favorite colour is red too!"

"It is?" Hyungwon asks, even though he already knows. Sort of. He knows that's what it used to be, at least. He smiles as Hyungjun nods and then goes back to his drawing, grabbing a red marker from the floor.

There's some shuffling behind the couch, and Hyungwon turns around to see Minhyuk leave the bathroom and pad his way to the living room. He's still wearing the chain Hyungwon got him on his wrist, and Hyungwon isn't sure if it's normal to feel so glad about that. He watches as the omega climbs over the couch's armrest and sits down in the corner, across from him.

He only becomes aware of how long he's been staring when Minhyuk actually looks back at him, blinking with a questioning look on his face. Inhaling deeply, he turns his gaze away and looks at Hyungjun again instead.

He's still not sure of how to get closer to Minhyuk again.

Ten minutes pass by with Hyungjun babbling something every now and then and the two of them answering him, until he gets up and announces that he has to get more markers from his room and toddles away. Hyungwon smiles at his small, retreating figure and leans against the armrest with his elbow.

"Don't you have work?" Minhyuk asks suddenly. Hyungwon turns his head to look at him, just in time to see him turn his head away as if he'd been secretly staring.

"I already did everything for today," he replies.

Minhyuk nods. Hyungwon watches how he takes in a deep breath, his chest rising and his shoulders tensing up for a moment before he exhales. He looks like he wants to say something - like he wants to _do_ something. Hyungwon isn't sure if he should urge him, so he doesn't.

It's then that the doorbell rings, and Hyungjun, curious as always, emerges from his room right away. "Mom? Who coming?"

"It's probably uncle Changkyun," Minhyuk tells him, getting up from the couch to go answer the door with Hyungjun bouncing after him.

Hyungwon raises an eyebrow, not sure what to except from the situation. It's not exactly an every-day thing for Minhyuk to invite his friends over when Hyungwon is visiting - which doesn't mean he _shouldn't_ do that, he can do whatever he wants, it's his house, but it feels sudden and strange. He's not sure if he should get up and go to the hall as well, or maybe even leave altogether.

He ends up sitting still, trying to listen to the conversation, but their voices are muffled and he can't exactly make out what they are saying. It takes several minutes, until there's a sound of the front door opening and closing again, and then Minhyuk returns to the living room, alone. He meets Hyungwon's gaze as he stops by the couch, standing there while playing with the hem of his shirt.

"I..." he starts, inhaling deeply, "I was supposed to tell you, but I... It's just, Changkyun promised to go to the grocery store for us since he lives close anyway and he promised to take Hyungjun with him. And I know that you want to spend time with him, that's why you are here, but it won't take long and I thought it would be good for us to... I don't know, to talk."

Hyungwon has to take a moment to take everything in - to take in the fact that this is probably the most he has heard Minhyuk talk at once after coming back - and then he nods, slowly. "To talk," he repeats, "that's... I've been thinking we need to do that."

Minhyuk nods, and then sits down onto the couch, a little closer to Hyungwon than earlier, but still several inches of space in between them. He adjusts his position several times, until he ends up with his knees drawn to his chest, facing Hyungwon.

He looks small, drawn into himself with his blue, baggy sweater while picking at his sleeves. Looking at him like this, Hyungwon goes through another shock of just how _strong_ he actually is.

He's gone through so much. He lost both his parents, lived in a cold, small apartment with three other people he barely knew, was left behind by Hyungwon, went through the pregnancy and raised their son all on his own. He's so, _so_ strong, but still he looks like this, so fragile, as if he would break just by being looked at in the wrong way.

"About what you said," Hyungwon starts, waiting for Minhyuk to look at him before continuing, "that the reason I'm here is that I want to spend time with Hyungjun. I mean, it's true, but it's not only him, Minhyuk."

Minhyuk blinks, staring at him in silence for a while that probably feels a lot longer than what it already is, and then sighs. "Hyungwon, this- you don't need to say or do things just to make me feel better."

Hyungwon's heart twists inside his chest. "I'm not doing that," he says, "I'm saying that because it's true. I care about you, Minhyuk, a lot, I-" _I love you._ "I know what I did was terrible and selfish and I'll _never_ forgive myself for it, but please, believe me. I never stopped caring about you. You're still..." _My whole world._ "..important to me."

Minhyuk looks away from him, tugging his arms around his legs and hugging them close to his chest. He chews on his lower lip and says, quietly, "You are important to me, too."

Hyungwon swallows a heavy lump down his throat and releases a breath he didn't even notice he was holding. Minhyuk glances up at him, lashes wet, and his body works before his mind does. He moves closer, all the way, until his side is pressed against Minhyuk's legs, and wraps his arm around the omega, pulling him into his embrace. Minhyuk scrambles around a little, unfolding his legs and throwing one of them over Hyungwon's lap, moving even closer until he has both arms wrapped around Hyungwon's shoulders.

An overwhelming feeling of relief washes over Hyungwon. This is it. This is what he's needed to do, what his body and mind have been _screaming_ for him to do for _years_. He has Minhyuk in his arms. Minhyuk, _his_ Minhyuk, his claimed one, the one he loves - he finally has him in his arms again. He feels like he's going to cry, his hands trembling as he grasps at Minhyuk's back and holds onto him tighter, the familiar scent overpowering him.

He presses his face against Minhyuk's hair and closes his eyes, inhaling deeply. He was such a fool - to ever think back then that it would be better for them to stay away from each other, to ever think that it could be possible for him to suppress his feelings. Minhyuk is his, and he is Minhyuk's, and there is no way around it. It's an unutterable feeling, something he simply can't put into words, a sense of _belonging_ , so beautiful in between all the guilt, hate and desperation.

He would rather die than leave Minhyuk again.

"Minhyuk," he breathes out, tilting his head to press his cheek against Minhyuk's hair, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't," Minhyuk whispers. He's breathing against Hyungwon's neck, and his body is warm, his sweater soft under Hyungwon's hands. "It's okay, Hyungwon."

And Hyungwon wants to protest, to fight, because he knows that it's most definitely not okay, but he decides that he can do that later. He'll apologize later. Right now, they only need this.

Right now, they only need each other. The two of them.

Hyungwon had thought that he'd been home when he first stepped his foot out of the plane upon landing on Seoul, but he'd been wrong. He's only home now.

"Minhyuk," he whispers, but for the first time, he doesn't have anything else to say. Just Minhyuk's name. He wants to taste it on his mouth and on the tip of his tongue, just as it is.

"Hyungwon," Minhyuk whispers back, letting out a quiet sob afterwards. Hyungwon hushes him and gently lifts his other hand on his shoulder, on the spot he knows the mark is on, clasps his palm there, and Minhyuk bursts into tears, making a choked-up noise with his entire body trembling. Hyungwon almost draws his hand away, but Minhyuk chokes out, " _no,_ " with a strained voice. "Like this," he whispers, "stay like this."

Hyungwon stays.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i intended to make this chapter longer but this is kind of an important scene so!! i didn't want to remove the impact by jumping into another scene right after. 
> 
> also, hyunghyuk in the season greetings ended me like ??? when i said i wanted them to come back to life i didn't mean i wanted to die instead but i mean we need sacrifices for the greater good ig


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calm before the storm

The claim mark on Minhyuk's skin is still tingling when Hyungwon slowly slides his hand down from his shoulder and pulls away. It's not _uncomfortable_ , by any means. It doesn't hurt. It's more of a pleasurable feeling, a _reminder_ , sort of, of Hyungwon's touch and embrace.

Minhyuk slips his hands away from Hyungwon's shoulders and brings them up to his face to wipe at his eyes. "I..." he starts, warily glancing up at Hyungwon. He thinks it kind of looks like Hyungwon is blinking tears away, too, but maybe it's just his imagination. "I've missed that," he admits.

The smile that appears on Hyungwon's face is bright and genuine, reminding Minhyuk of the way he smiles at Hyungjun. It makes him smile as well. "Me too," Hyungwon says.

They fall into a silence after that, staring at each other, their eyes jumping around the room every now and then before settling back on the other. Minhyuk thinks it's the first time after Hyungwon's return that they're able to actually see each other, even if his eyesight is still a little blurry because of the tears. He still has one leg sprawled over Hyungwon's lap, and Hyungwon has one hand on his knee, warm and comforting, familiar.

Maybe, he thinks, maybe everything is going to be okay.

Hyungwon lifts his other hand, and Minhyuk follows it with his gaze, not even flinching when it comes up to his jaw. He lets Hyungwon touch there, playing with his fingers until he has his chin in between his thumb and index finger, gently tilting Minhyuk's head back. It's a familiar pattern. Minhyuk recognizes it all, from the way Hyungwon is holding him to the look in his eyes, and it makes his skin burn.

He already knows to expect the way Hyungwon leans closer to him, stopping only as the tips of their noses brush together. He knows to expect it, but the warmth rushes up to his cheeks anyway, and he has to hold his breath as he waits for Hyungwon's next move.

He wants to kiss Hyungwon - wants Hyungwon to kiss him, to hold him even closer than what they were before. But he also knows that once they do so, he won't be able to stop, won't be able to hold back, and he's not sure if he can let that happen right now. He wants to, but things are still much more complicated than that, and it's not all about want or even feelings.

Hyungwon seems to notice his hesitation. He slips his hand up from his jaw to his cheek, gently presses his palm there, places their foreheads together. "Minhyuk," he whispers, "we have all the time in the world. It's okay."

Minhyuk's heart flutters. At first, he attempts hiding his smile, but then decides to forget about that for now, letting it spread on his lips as he brings his hands to the back of Hyungwon's neck, massaging there gently. "All the time in the world?" he asks, closing his eyes as Hyungwon strokes his cheek.

"All the time in the world," Hyungwon repeats.

They stay like that until the doorbell rings, several, long moments later, and Minhyuk has to get up to answer the door. He doesn't miss the way Changkyun looks at him while handing him the groceries, leaning a tad bit closer than necessary to take a proper whiff of his scent before leaving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
"Are your parents still angry with you?"

Hyungwon stops in the middle of the stairs, lazily swirling around to look at Kihyun. The omega is standing at the beginning of the staircase, leaning against the railing while looking up at him. He's wearing a white, oversized sweater that Hyungwon is pretty sure actually belongs to Hoseok.

"You could say so," he replies. Kihyun gives him a sympathetic smile.

"I know the feeling," he says, looking down as he picks at the sleeve of his sweater before glancing up at Hyungwon again, "I was never really the... I don't know, the perfect kid, I guess."

"You?" Hyungwon quirks an eyebrow, slowly stepping down the stairs until he's standing on the same step with Kihyun. "That's surprising."

Kihyun grins at that. "That's exactly what Hoseok said when I first told him."

Hyungwon smiles in amusement and leans against the railing behind himself, opposite from Kihyun, and crosses his arms. "Anyway," he says, "that's not what you really want to talk about, is it?"

"Kind of not," Kihyun admits right away. "I actually want to ask for a favor."

"Go ahead."

"Could you give me a ride to the store?" Kihyun asks, grinning sheepishly afterwards when Hyungwon raises an eyebrow at him. "I mean, I would go by myself, but I never got my driver's license, so that's kind of a problem. And Hoseok won't be home in a few hours. I was thinking of cooking something."

Hyungwon ponders for a moment, and then shrugs, straightening his back and stepping off the stairs. It's not like he has much to do anyway - he might have been planning to take a nap or maybe text Minhyuk, but he could do that later. "Yeah, sure."

"Thank you, Hyungwon. You're my saviour."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
It turns out, Kihyun is much better company than Hyungwon expected.

They haven't really spent time together, just the two of them - and not even with other people around. Hyungwon is busy with work, with Minhyuk and Hyungjun, while Kihyun either spends his time with Hoseok or their mother, unless he's alone sitting in their library reading something. He's probably read more books in the library than Hyungwon has read there in his entire lifetime - Hyungwon mentions that out loud, and Kihyun laughs.

"You and Hoseok are actually really alike," he says.

That's another thing Hyungwon learns about Kihyun. He constantly talks about Hoseok. However, while Hoseok is always very much aware of the fact that he _is_ rambling about Kihyun whenever he does that, Kihyun seems to do that almost unconsciously. Every bit of their conversation always circles back to Hoseok - how his car is different from Hyungwon's, how he always sings that song that is playing on the radio when he thinks Kihyun can't hear him, how he once took Kihyun to that bakery they drive past.

It's funny to Hyungwon, but it also makes him wonder if Minhyuk talks about him too. Or _used to_ talk, back then, at least. Does he have anyone right now who he could talk to about Hyungwon? Hyunwoo, Changkyun? The two obviously strongly dislike Hyungwon - which Hyungwon can't blame them for - so would they even be willing to listen? Or does Minhyuk ever even feel like talking about him? Like this, so freely, so naturally?

Because he, for sure, wants to talk about Minhyuk. His thoughts always go back to Minhyuk just like Kihyun's words always go back to Hoseok, but he can't express it out loud even if he wanted to, since there's no one to talk to about him. The only person who knows about them, their current state, is Jooheon, and Hyungwon barely has the time to even see him nowadays.

He does remember talking about Minhyuk before, though. To both Jooheon and Hoseok, back when it was just a _fun_ , exciting secret, when they really weren't thinking about future or anything else besides for each other.

He does remember creeping into Hoseok's room in the middle of the night and sitting there, on the floor, while talking about Minhyuk. He does remember visiting Jooheon and constantly having to pause whatever game they were playing because he just had to talk about Minhyuk right at that moment. About how they met last night and how Minhyuk was dressed really casually but he still looked beautiful and about how Minhyuk wants to adopt a puppy and about how Minhyuk woke him up by climbing on top of him and kissing him square on the mouth.

He wants to go back to that. He wants to go back to talking about Minhyuk, but most importantly, he wants to go back to waking up next to Minhyuk.

After holding Minhyuk in his arms yesterday, he even dares to believe that they have a chance to do that.

"You're smiling to yourself," Kihyun comments suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts. He blinks and looks at the omega, clearing his throat in embarrassment,

"I- I wasn't doing that."

"Yeah, sure." Kihyun rolls his eyes, grabbing three bottles of spices Hyungwon has never even heard of from the shelf and dropping them into the basket. "Can you grab the curry for me? It's on the top shelf."

"Shortie," Hyungwon says, grinning when Kihyun shoots a glare in his direction. He picks up the curry anyway and adds it to the basket, following after the omega in between the shelves while trying not to run into anyone on the way. Kihyun walks _fast_ , and it seems to be a rush hour, the store filled with people to the brim.

They're already nearing the checkout when an alpha male much bigger in size than Hyungwon passes by them, shoving Kihyun with his elbow as he goes. Kihyun stumbles, and Hyungwon, more out of an instinct than anything, grabs him by the waist to help him regain his balance. Kihyun curses under his breath, still pretty much pressed at Hyungwon's side, and Hyungwon looks at the direction where the alpha was heading, a frown on his face.

He doesn't see the alpha anymore. Instead, he sees another familiar figure. _Three_ of them, to be exact, and they're all looking at him and Kihyun.

He barely has the time to register the grim expression on Hyunwoo's face and the _hurt_ on Minhyuk's, when Hyungjun is already sprinting towards him, calling out _"dad!"_

_Oh, god._

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're about to go on a full domino-effect ride of events rn


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It starts unwinding

Hyungwon can feel Kihyun staring at him as he lets go of the omega and crouches down instead, awkwardly clearing his throat and forcing out a smile to flash at Hyungjun as the boy runs into his arms. _God_ , he thinks. _God, why now?_ Why do they happen to run into each other now that Hyungwon isn't alone? How is he going to explain this? To anyone?

"Hey, love," he says to Hyungjun, the boy beaming up at him while clinging onto his shirt, and he wishes he wouldn't need to feel like this, scared, when he's out in the public with his son for his brother's mate to see. That's just not _normal_.

"So, Hyungwon."

Oh, _right_ , and it's not just Hyungjun. It's not just Hyungjun and Minhyuk, even.

Hyungwon slowly gets up, letting Hyungjun cling onto his leg as he does, and looks up to meet Hyunwoo's eyes. The older alpha is standing a few feet away, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Who's this?" he asks, nodding towards Kihyun. Hyungwon grimaces and glances at the said omega, who is looking back at Hyunwoo with confusion written all over his face.

"And who are you?" he asks back. Hyungwon inhales deeply, knowing that he needs to intervene before the whole misunderstanding gets out of hand.

"Kihyun, can I, please?" he speaks. Kihyun looks at him, raising an eyebrow but shrugging his shoulders afterwards. Hyungwon mouths him a small thank you, absentmindedly ruffling Hyungjun's hair before looking at Minhyuk. He looks conflicted. "Minhyuk," he breathes out, "this- this is Hoseok's mate and fiancé. He's not- there's nothing going on with me and him."

He thinks Minhyuk's expression brightens a little. However, the omega doesn't get to say anything as Kihyun suddenly gapes, grabbing at Hyungwon's sleeve and tugging at it, "Wait, _wait. Minhyuk?"_

"Yes," Hyungwon says, awkwardly. He looks at Minhyuk and Hyunwoo, the latter of which still doesn't look very convinced.

"Oh," Kihyun says. "Hyungwon, does Hoseok know that-"

"No," Hyungwon interrupts him, "he doesn't."

"So," Hyunwoo inhales in between, "who is Hoseok?"

"He's Hyungwon's brother," Minhyuk says softly, speaking for the first time on the encounter, and Hyungwon suddenly feels very relieved just to hear his voice. "Hyunwoo, I think we should go. Hyungjun, too, come here."

"Don't wanna!" Hyungjun whines, clinging tighter onto Hyungwon's leg. Hyungwon sighs.

"Hyungjunnie," he says, trying to make his voice both gentle but authoritative, "listen to your mom."

"Wanna stay with dad," Hyungjun protests.

"Dad will come visit soon," Hyungwon promises, breathing out in relief when Hyungjun lets go of his leg with a pout and slowly returns to his mother's side. He'd love to stay with Hyungjun, too, but it's not the right time and place now. He watches how Minhyuk takes a hold of Hyungjun's hand, and then tugs at the hem of Hyunwoo's shirt to pull him away from the scene. They look like a family, he thinks, just a little bitter. "Minhyuk," he calls out before the omega gets to turn his back to him, "I'll call you, or something."

"Okay," is all Minhyuk says. There's a sting in Hyungwon's heart because of it, and he nearly forgets to wave Hyungjun goodbye.

It's when the three of them are out of their sight, swallowed by the group, that Kihyun speaks up again. "It's probably not my business," he says, "but would you like to, I don't know, _explain?"_

Hyungwon sighs and rubs at his forehead. "Let's get in the car first."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
"So," Kihyun says slowly, "so basically you have a son and a mate, and nobody knows."

"Jooheon knows," Hyungwon grunts, pulling up to their home yard with his car and parking it on the usual spot. "And now you do, too."

"But your family doesn't."

"I would tell them if I knew they would accept it."

"Hoseok would," Kihyun says. Hyungwon sighs and turns his head to actually look at him.

"So, what now? Are you suggesting I tell him? Are _you_ going to tell him?"

Kihyun falls quiet at that, drops his gaze down to his lap and lifts his hand to play with his earring. It's a strange look on him. He's usually confident, straight-forward. "He's my _mate_ , Hyungwon. I don't exactly like keeping secrets from him."

"It's not _your_ secret," Hyungwon tells him, "it's mine, Kihyun. Listen, I don't like hiding things from him either - he's still my twin brother. I've been thinking of telling him."

"Then why haven't you?"

"I don't _know_ , I just haven't had the time. This isn't about him, anyway. There's a lot more to this, you do realize that, right?"

"Of course I do," Kihyun sighs, finally lifting his head to look at Hyungwon again. "I- I'm not trying to make this about Hoseok, or anything. I know there's a bigger picture in here. I'm just not sure what to say, because this is still kind of a _strange_ situation, you know?"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Hyungwon says. He watches as Kihyun's face deepens into a frown, and sighs again, nodding his head to the backseat where the groceries are packed. "You should probably take those and go inside, already."

Kihyun raises an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you coming?"

"No," Hyungwon tells him, "I need to go. To talk with Minhyuk."

Kihyun looks like he's going to protest, or say something else, but in the end he just nods and gets out of the car.

  
  


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
"Hyungjun is taking a nap," Minhyuk tells him as soon as he opens the door for him, as if he'd been expecting for Hyungwon to come. "And Hyunwoo is here."

"Oh," Hyungwon says, feeling kind of foolish. He pushes his hand in his pockets and fiddles with his keys there, trying not to look as conflicted or awkward as he feels. "Well," he starts carefully, "maybe we could talk outside?"

Minhyuk blinks up at him, leans against the doorframe and takes a glance behind himself, inside of the apartment. Then he shrugs and retreats, leaving the door half-open as he disappears back to his apartment. Hyungwon isn't sure what to do, so he stays standing there, ignoring the older beta woman who stares at him curiously as she gets out of the elevator and slides inside the apartment next door.

Minhyuk returns to the door a moment later, dressed into his jacket and a scarf, steps outside and shuts the door after himself. His hand brushes Hyungwon's as he walks past him to the elevator, and Hyungwon doesn't even know if it was intentional or not, but it still makes his heart race.

They stay quiet in the elevator, on their way out of the building and even after that, Hyungwon letting Minhyuk lead him down the street until they arrive at a park a few blocks away. It's mostly empty, save for the few kids sitting in the swings of the playground, their laughter and joyous screams distant.

"I believe you," Minhyuk speaks up, crossing his arms. His scarf hides his mouth and muffles his words a little. "That he's Hoseok's mate and there's nothing going on with you and him. I believe you."

Hyungwon breathes out in relief, the tension that had been building up in his shoulders releasing. He sits down onto the bench nearby and waits for Minhyuk to take a seat as well before saying, "I'm glad."

Minhyuk gives him a small nod and hides his hands in his pockets, turning his head to look towards the playground. "We came here to talk, though," he says then. Hyungwon watches how he slightly bounces his other foot, jittery, nervous. "So I- can I ask you something?"

Hyungwon blinks and twists his upper body so he's facing Minhyuk better, even if the omega still isn't looking at him. "Of course."

Minhyuk nods again, and then casts his eyes down, digs at the ground with the tip of his shoe. "Back in America," he starts, warily, "did you date anyone?"

"No," Hyungwon answers truthfully, "I had some one-night stands, but I didn't go out with anyone."

"Oh," Minhyuk says. It's so soft Hyungwon barely catches it, breathed out underneath the scarf.

"Were you seeing anyone while I was gone?" Hyungwon asks.

Minhyuk doesn't answer right away. He pulls his hands away from his pockets and tugs at his sleeves to hide his hands with them instead. Then, he looks up at Hyungwon, hesitant.

"I... I didn't," he replies. "But Hyungwon, there's something- I want to tell you something."

Hyungwon urges back the heavy feeling that threatens to dwell inside his chest and says, "I'm listening."

"After Hyungjun was born, I started taking heat suppressants again," Minhyuk says, quickly looking away from Hyungwon as he does so. "Because...because you left. It was working out well, but apparently it's- it's not _good_ to use them for several years without a break. I mean, it's not bad for the health, but they just, _stop working_ for a while. The heat pushes through. I didn't know."

He stops, drawing in a deep breath. Hyungwon moves a tad bit closer to him, presses their thighs together while swallowing as he thinks about Minhyuk's words.

"What happened?" he asks.

"I think it was six months ago," Minhyuk says softly, "there was this party at work, because our boss had gotten engaged. I didn't want to be rude by not showing up, so I left Hyungjun with Changkyun and went there." He blinks, lifts his hands to his scarf to adjust it nervously before continuing. "It was all good, but halfway through the night I started feeling- I could feel my heat coming up. I kind of panicked, because I had taken my suppressants and I didn't know _why_ it was happening, and it all just happened _very fast._ There were lots of alphas there, so of course they noticed."

His voice wavers, and Hyungwon reaches over and clasps his hand with his own.

"Minhyuk," he says sternly, "did someone hurt you?"

Minhyuk shakes his head and lightly squeezes his hand. Hyungwon feels like exhaling deeply in relief again.

"Nothing like that," Minhyuk whispers. "I just- I didn't really know anyone else there, back then, no one but Hyunwoo. And he's an an alpha, so I wasn't sure if I should ask for his help, to ask him for a ride home, but I decided to trust him and asked him. He promised to help me."

Hyungwon's fingers twitch. Minhyuk seems to notice, as he stops again, taking a moment before continuing,

"He gave me a ride home. He would have left, right away, but I felt so _awful_ and I asked him to stay." Minhyuk closes his eyes, chewing on his lower lip, "I asked him to stay, and then I asked him to help me."

Hyungwon doesn't know what to say to that. His heart twists inside his chest, and he looks down at their joined hands. "Did he?"

"Yes," Minhyuk whispers.

"And he didn't hurt you?"

Minhyuk looks at him, again, and blinks, before answering, "no. He didn't. He wouldn't have done anything if I didn't ask him to. He was- he was really holding himself back."

Hyungwon nods. He brushes Minhyuk's knuckles with his thumb and swallows.

"But I-" Minhyuk inhales deeply, drops his gaze down to his lap while curling into himself, crossing his ankles and shoving his free hand into his pocket. "Even if he- it didn't really go _away_. It lasted for _two full days,_ Hyungwon. And that's what _hurt_."

Hyungwon's body freezes. He looks at Minhyuk, at his face, tries to find some kind of an eye contact, but Minhyuk avoids his gaze. His lips are trembling.

"At first I thought it was also just a side-effect of the suppressants," Minhyuk says, so quiet Hyungwon barely hears him, "but actually, it was because you weren't there."

He doesn't say anything after that. Hyungwon watches how he closes his eyes, avoids looking at him even more, and _pure anger_ directed at his own self arises inside of him.

There are so many ways in which he has hurt Minhyuk - so many things that he will never be able to forgive himself for. So many things, and they just keep appearing, toppling over while building up. He doesn't know what to do about them, because a simple _sorry_ will never be enough.

He says it anyway. Clasps Minhyuk's other hand as well, tries warming up his cold fingers and whispers, "I'm sorry, Minhyuk. I'm so- so, _so_ sorry."

"I know," Minhyuk says softly, forgiving even when that's not what Hyungwon deserves. "I know you are, Hyungwon. I'm not angry about it. I just wanted you to know."

"You need to stop being this kind to me," Hyungwon mutters, his chest aching. Minhyuk squeezes his hands.

"You're here now, Hyungwon," he says, "that's what matters."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's 12.30 am and i didn't proofread this so i apologize for any possible errors


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explosion

Things go back to normal. Or, as normal as they possibly can be in their situation.

Hyungwon keeps working, stays back extra hours on some days, and gradually, his parents warm up to him again. On other days, he goes to see Hyungjun and Minhyuk and stays as long as he can without rising questions back at home. Minhyuk sits closer to him, sometimes so close they're touching each other, and sometimes he laughs at things Hyungwon and Hyungjun say or do, and it's beautiful.

So beautiful, Hyungwon slowly forgets that not everything is that simple and there still are things to overcome. It's only when Hoseok walks to his room on a Sunday at nine in the evening, with his hands fidgeting and Kihyun rushing close after him that everything comes crashing down at him again.

"Hyungwon," Hoseok says, stopping in the middle of the room with Kihyun stopping right beside him, grasping at his arm while looking guilty and Hyungwon _knows_. "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Hyungwon casts a long look at Kihyun, who seems to shrink underneath it, looking apologetic but also a little defensive. He shuts his laptop screen and places it onto the empty side of his bed and then stands up, facing his brother. "Not really," he says, "your fiancé already told everything anyway, didn't he?"

Hoseok frowns. "Kihyun isn't obligated to protect your secrets, Hyungwon."

"Yeah, apparently not," Hyungwon mutters. He raises his hand as Hoseok opens his mouth to speak, waiting for him to close it before speaking again himself, "but that doesn't mean I should tell anything to you."

Hoseok sighs. "This isn't just about you, Hyungwon-"

"Yeah, it's not!" Hyungwon interrupts, raising his voice. Hoseok and Kihyun both flinch. "You're fucking right, it's not. You know who it is about? It's about the man and the child I left behind because I was too fucking scared to stand up against our parents. It has nothing to do with _you_."

"I could help you," Hoseok says, his voice almost eerily quiet compared to Hyungwon's outburst. "With mother and father. You're still their son, and that boy- he's still their grandchild. They deserve to _know_."

Hyungwon almost laughs at that. "They _deserve_ that? Really? Hoseok, back then when they found out, do you know what they said about Minhyuk?"

"Hyungwon-"

"Do you know, Hoseok?" Hyungwon repeats, inhaling deeply as Hoseok presses his lips to a thin line and shakes his head, squeezing Kihyun's hand. "I'll tell you. They said he's low, and dirty, and that he was dating me for our money. They said people like him are looked down upon _for a reason_. They said he's _worthless_."

Hoseok stays silent, and so does Kihyun, the both of them staring at him. Hyungwon inhales deeply and unfists his hands.

"They said they'll spread his name around this entire fucking country with their fucked-up connections and make sure he'll never be able to get a proper job or live like a normal person if I don't leave him," he continues, casting his gaze down at the floor and closing his eyes for a moment, "so _don't_. Don't tell me they deserve _anything_."

The silence falls heavily upon them. When Hyungwon finally looks up again, he sees the two staring back at him, Hoseok looking helpless and confused.

And guilty.

"Hyungwon," he says, quietly, "I was the one who told them."

Hyungwon's heart stops.

"You-" he breathes out, "you _what?"_

"I told them," Hoseok says again, dropping his gaze down to the floor. "Back then, I told them you were seeing him. I didn't- I thought they would understand. I didn't do it to-"

Hyungwon grasps at his nearby office chair and slams it to the ground. The collision makes a lout noise, a couple of screws pattering to the floor, and Hoseok flinches, his arm instinctively coming up in front of Kihyun. Hyungwon stares at the chair, at Hoseok, and for a moment he's sure that the first person he's going to punch square on the face is going to be his own brother.

He stops himself at the last second, and instead, he walks over to his wardrobe and slams the door open. There's a ringing sound in his ears and he inhales deeply to steady himself before grabbing his suitcase and opening it, starting to fill it with most necessary clothes.

"Hyungwon," Hoseok speaks, voice small, "what are you doing?"

Hyungwon doesn't answer him, mainly because he knows that if he were to open his mouth, he would spit out things that he's going to regret. He drags his suitcase to his bathroom, collects all the necessities from there and stuffs them inside. When he returns to the bedroom, his parents are also there, on the doorway, probably after hearing all the noise.

"What's going on?" his father asks. He doesn't respond to that either, slipping his laptop in the suitcase and then shutting it. "Hyungwon? _Hoseok?"_

"I..." Hoseok starts, and Hyungwon decides that he's not going to stick around to listen. He grabs his phone and the suitcase, and walks out of the room, from in between his parents, and he feels like he's burning.

"I'm taking a few days off from the office," he says to his father, and then leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
Minhyuk wakes up to his phone ringing.

He scrambles up on his bed, rubbing at his face with one hand while reaching for his phone. It's well past one in the morning, he notes in his daze, squinting at the name on his phone screen.

 _Hyungwon_.

His heart jumps to his throat and he wipes at his eyes again, attempting to wake himself properly before picking up the call, at the same time peering towards Hyungjun's room through the opened doors to make sure the boy didn't wake up to the sound.

"Hyungwon?" he croaks out, voice heavy from sleep. "What's going on?"

_"Did I wake you up?"_

"...yes."

There's a long silence after that, and Minhyuk actually has to remove the phone from his ear and glance at the screen to make sure he didn't dream up the whole thing. He didn't. "What's going on?" he repeats, bringing the phone back to his ear.

 _"I'm outside,"_ Hyungwon says. _"I mean, outside of your apartment. I- I didn't want to ring the doorbell or knock since Hyungjun could wake up."_

Minhyuk sits still for a moment, quiet, staring at his lap as he tries to process the situation - that it's almost two in the morning, and Hyungwon just called him and told him he's outside his apartment. "You're really here?"

 _"Yes,"_ Hyungwon replies. There's a pause, and then he says, _"I probably shouldn't. I'm sorry. You're probably tired and have work in the morning. Maybe I should go."_

"No, wait," Minhyuk says hastily. He clicks on the small lamp he keeps on his nightstand and gets up from the bed, "wait there. I'll open the door for you."

_"I really shouldn't be here."_

"It's okay, Hyungwon," Minhyuk says. "I'll be there in a minute. Don't leave. I'm hanging up now."

 _"Okay,"_ Hyungwon says, and Minhyuk ends the call. He leaves his phone on the nightstand and grabs a hoodie, draping it around his shoulders before padding his way out of the bedroom. On the way, he checks Hyungjun's room to make sure the boy really is sleeping, and then strides to the front door, unlocking it.

Hyungwon is still holding his phone in his hand, and there's a suitcase by his feet. His hair is disheveled and he looks tired.

"Hey," Minhyuk whispers, reaching forward to grab the alpha's hand in his. "What happened? Are you... Hyungwon, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Hyungwon replies, squeezing tight at Minhyuk's hand as he says, again, "I shouldn't be here. I'm sorry."

"Don't," Minhyuk says softly, gently pulling at his hand to urge him to step inside. He does, dragging his suitcase with him but not letting go of Minhyuk's hand. "What happened?" Minhyuk repeats.

"Nothing," Hyungwon tells him, slowly letting go of his hand. Minhyuk watches wordlessly as he lets go of his suitcase and kicks off his shoes, crouching down to arrange them next to Hyungjun's small sneakers. When he gets up again, he takes a hold of Minhyuk's forearm, and slowly pulls him closer.

Minhyuk is still blinking the sleep from his eyes as Hyungwon wraps his arms around him, his cheeks flushing and his heart making a flip inside his chest. He slowly drapes his arms around Hyungwon's shoulders and lifts his hand to his hair, carefully petting there.

"I decided," Hyungwon whispers, his cheek pressed against Minhyuk's hair. "I decided that I'll tell my parents about you and Hyungjun, and if they have a problem with anything, I'll leave the company."

Minhyuk blinks, his hand in Hyungwon's hair stopping. "Hyungwon," he whispers, "are you sure?"

"Yes," Hyungwon responds. His hold around Minhyuk tightens, his chest rising and falling as he inhales deeply. "I'll leave the company, and if you just want to, I'll leave Seoul too and take you and Hyungjun with me." He lowers his hand to the small of Minhyuk's back, gently pressing his palm there, and Minhyuk's breath hitches. "I'll buy us the house I promised you, years ago."

Minhyuk swallows, his eyes stinging as he attempts blinking a sudden wave of tears away. He slips his hands down to Hyungwon's upper arms, and leans back just enough to properly look Hyungwon in the eyes.

He looks honest, genuine, maybe a little _scared_. Minhyuk brings a hand to his cheek and gently brushes his skin with his fingertips. The chain on his wrist peeks out from underneath his hoodie's sleeve.

"We'd love that," he whispers.

Hyungwon smiles, presses their foreheads together, and Minhyuk leans forward and kisses him. His heart leaps in his chest when Hyungwon responds and pulls him closer again, and for a moment, it feels like they never were apart.

They climb onto Minhyuk's bed together and share one pillow and blanket, facing each other with their fingers intertwined.

(Minhyuk thinks he hears Hyungwon say _I love you_ right before he falls asleep, but it might as well be just his imagination.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's going to be three or so chapters and then we'll be wrapping up this fic :')


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rollercoaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update!! i've been really busy

Minhyuk groans, shuffling around in the sheets as his alarm goes off, sharply cutting the dream he forgets about right away as he tries forcing his eyes open. He's just about to reach to the nightstand when the alarm turns off on _its own_ , silence filling the room again.

He lifts his head from the pillow and rubs at his face with one hand, squinting his eyes in the dim room. He notices the scent before his eyes have the time to get used to the darkness, and he inhales sharply, more out of instinct than anything.

 _Oh_ , it's Hyungwon. Hyungwon turned off the alarm. Hyungwon slept next to him and is, still, _in his bed._

The realization makes him feel like a teenager all over again, and he involuntarily thinks back to when he first slept in the same bed with Hyungwon, so nervous that he barely _could_  actually sleep. They'd gotten pretty drunk in a bar and Hyungwon had insisted that it would be better for Minhyuk to go with him to stay the night at his friend's apartment because he lived closeby. Jooheon had sneered at them once they got there, made a joke about how Hyungwon finally is hitting it off with an omega, and let them sleep in his bedroom. ("Don't do anything weird in my bed, though, please," he said, and Hyungwon glared at him with Minhyuk giggling drunkenly.)

"Good morning," Hyungwon says, voice laced with sleep, and only then Minhyuk realizes that he's sort of just stayed frozen for a good while now, stuck in his thoughts. He blinks, clears his throat and looks away,

"Good morning."

It's quiet for a while, and Minhyuk stays still again, holding himself up with his elbows while staring down at the space in between them.

"You still have the same alarm," Hyungwon says, and Minhyuk smiles before he can stop himself. He wipes at his face again to hide the grin and shrugs his shoulders.

"Yeah, I do," he says, glancing down at Hyungwon's face. The alpha smiles at him, his hair a mess on his forehead and on Minhyuk's pillow. Minhyuk wishes it wasn't so dark so he could see him better. "You always hated it."

"I hated waking up," Hyungwon says, staring back up at him with a soft expression. "That was dumb of me."

Minhyuk raises an eyebrow, hesitating a little before laying his head back on the pillow and turning to his side so he's facing Hyungwon. "How so?" he asks.

Hyungwon shrugs, taking a hold of the covers to pull them properly on both of them. He presses his hand on Minhyuk's arm as he soothes them down, and Minhyuk wishes he dared to ask him not to pull away. "I was ungrateful," he finally explains. "I was able to wake up next to you and I just... I took it for granted."

Minhyuk's heart twists. He inhales deeply, slowly unwinding his hands from where he has them pressed against his own chest to find Hyungwon's own underneath the covers. Hyungwon allows him to intertwine their fingers, staring at him.

"Don't think like that," Minhyuk whispers.

"It's true," Hyungwon says, gently squeezing Minhyuk's hands. "I took a lot of things for granted."

"So did I," Minhyuk tells him, "everyone does that. You don't need to blame yourself for it."

Hyungwon shrugs again. He doesn't press on the subject, but he looks guilty anyway, and Minhyuk still knows him well enough to know how he's feeling. He brushes the alpha's knuckles with his thumb.

"I should get up for work," he whispers, "and wake Hyungjun up too."

"I know," Hyungwon whispers back.

Neither one of them moves.

Minhyuk is the first one to crack up. The laughter starts bubbling in his stomach, and gradually rises, and then he's shaking, pressing his face against the pillow to stop himself from cackling out loud. He can feel through their hands when Hyungwon starts laughing too, the bed jiggling underneath them as they attempt keeping quiet, and eventually Minhyuk has to lift his head from the pillow to gasp for air, nearly in tears from trying to hold his laughter in.

He watches as Hyungwon lifts his head from the pillow as well, wiping at his eyes with his lips stretched into a wide, genuine smile, and he tries to recall when was the last time he felt this wonderful. He's not able to.

Maybe it's because the whole situation makes him feel so lightheaded, or maybe his head is just still clouded with sleep, or maybe it's both or neither, but Minhyuk holds tighter onto Hyungwon's hands and whispers, "kiss me."

Hyungwon looks at him, holds back until Minhyuk tugs at his hands again, and then complies. He moves closer slowly and presses their lips together, untangling their fingers to wrap his arms around Minhyuk instead. He's warm, his mouth _hot_ , and Minhyuk's heart rams in his chest with such power it almost _scares_ him. It's different from the kiss they shared at night, but still familiar, _so familiar_ , and Minhyuk is now fully awake, even with his eyes tightly closed.

Minhyuk twists his body inside Hyungwon's embrace and rolls onto his back onto the bed, grabbing at Hyungwon's shirt to pull him down with him. Hyungwon complies, the covers shuffling above them as he climbs in between Minhyuk's legs, gently nibbling at the omega's bottom lip before he opens his mouth to offer better access.

Hyungwon's touches are gentle but determined as his hands explore Minhyuk's body, slipping underneath his shirt and circling a little longer at the most sensitive spots. Minhyuk breathes heavily against his mouth, arching his back from the bed and grasping at his arms.

"I missed you," Hyungwon whispers once they pull back for air, watching each other in the dark room. Minhyuk almost cries again.

"I missed you too," he breathes out, cradling Hyungwon's face to his hands. Hyungwon smiles at him, gently holding onto the collar of his shirt to pull it down, exposing his shoulder.

"Can I?" he asks with a hushed voice, and Minhyuk nods, slipping his hands to his hair instead.

"Please."

Hyungwon leans down, gradually, pressing light kisses on Minhyuk's jaw and neck as he goes, slowing down even more once he reaches his shoulder. Minhyuk swallows and gently tugs at his hair in anticipation, whimpering once Hyungwon finally presses a wet, open-mouthed kiss on his claim mark. The sound draws a low, inhumane growl from the alpha's throat in return, and Minhyuk shudders, holding onto him tighter.

It's then that he hears the loud, familiar creaking of a door in the hallway, and he snaps out of it, digging his nails on Hyungwon's skin in shock. Hyungwon flinches, and then seems to catch on the sound as well as he freezes, lifting his head to look at Minhyuk.

"Mom?" Hyungjun calls out groggily, obviously still half-asleep, and that's when the two of them move, Hyungwon scrambling away from on top of Minhyuk and Minhyuk rolling onto his stomach so he can reach the lamp on the nightstand, breathing still uneven. He clicks the light on and blinks at the sudden brightness before looking towards Hyungjun. The boy is wearing his pajamas, hair sticking to different directions, and Minhyuk can't help but smile.

"Baby," he calls out softly, "did you wake up yourself?"

Hyungjun nods, pouty, and looks like he's about to say something, but then he seems to notice the third presence in the room, his eyes growing wide as he stares somewhere behind Minhyuk. "Dad!" he gasps, bouncing on his place before dashing to the bed in excitement. He's still too short to get there on his own, so Minhyuk helps him, laughing as he climbs over his lap to crash onto Hyungwon's.

With the new light, Minhyuk can see Hyungwon's hair being a mess similar to Hyungjun's, and he feels unbelievably warm, watching their disheveled, dark locks and identical grins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
"Oh dear. What's this? Minhyuk?"

Minhyuk sighs in defeat, leaving the email he'd been writing to slowly swing around with his chair and casting a long look at his co-worker. "What is it, Sungyoon?"

The other omega grins at him with raised eyebrows. He has strolled over to Minhyuk's cubicle with his own chair - a daily occurrence - with a coffee on his hand and a pen in another. "Are you cheating on Hyunwoo?"

Minhyuk nearly chokes on his own spit, coughing as he stares at the other in utter disbelief. Another co-worker of theirs walks by and casts him a strange look, and he presses his lips into a thin line in embarrassment, inhaling deeply before looking at Sungyoon again.

"You know I'm not dating Hyunwoo," he says, slumping back against his chair, "I don't know what you're trying to imply."

Sungyoon rolls his eyes, leaning back on his chair to glance to their left, waving his hand. "Hyunjae," he calls out, "hey, come here."

The beta complies in seconds, strolling over with his chair as Minhyuk stares, unimpressed. As soon as he stops, he wrinkles his nose, curiously leaning closer to Minhyuk,

"Damn. That's not Hyunwoo's scent, is it?"

Minhyuk grimaces. Sungyoon gives him a pointed look while taking a sip of his coffee.

"It's not," he says, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't recognize that at all. It's sort of a sweet scent, right? Where'd you find this alpha, Lee?"

"That's not your business," Minhyuk says, swirling around on his chair to face his desk again. It doesn't work, and he doesn't even know why he's surprised anymore when the two stroll to both his sides and lean in to take a whiff of his scent.

Hyungwon's scent.

"Are you like, seeing him, or was it just an one-time thing?" Hyunjae questions, and Minhyuk sighs loudly, placing his elbows on his desk and rubbing his temples. "Does Hyunwoo at least know?"

"I _swear-_ "

"Do I know what?"

Minhyuk stops on his tracks, slowly lifting his head to meet Hyunwoo's eyes on the other side of the cubicle's wall. The alpha raises an eyebrow at him, and he shuts his mouth, glancing at both Sungyoon and Hyunjae. Sungyoon flashes a smile at Hyunwoo.

"Nothing," he says, "we'll get back to work. Sorry."

"Exactly," Hyunjae chimes in, and then they're both dragging their chairs away, leaving Minhyuk underneath Hyunwoo's questioning stare all on his own.

"What was that about?" the alpha asks, and Minhyuk bites onto his lower lip, shrugging his shoulders.

"Same old," he mutters, "you know how they're like."

"Right," Hyunwoo says. He looks like he's about to say something else, but then he shakes his head, looking down. "Let's both get back to work. And tell me if they bother you again. They're both behind on their schedules already, too."

"Of course," Minhyuk says. Hyunwoo directs a smile at him before turning his back and walking away.

Minhyuk doesn't know why he feels so guilty.

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time

As soon as it hits three in the evening, Minhyuk gathers his things, turning off the computer and shoving a stack of papers inside one folder. He grabs his jacket and phone and then flees, half-running past all his co-workers to avoid getting stuck in another meaningless conversation.

Usually he wouldn't mind a casual chat that much, but this isn't a _usual_ day, because Hyungwon is staying back at his place watching Hyungjun, and Minhyuk isn't going to miss spending any more time with them than what he necessarily has to.

He makes it to the elevator, and then to the first floor, but that's it.

"Minhyuk!"

He spins around, his back facing the main doors of the building. Hyunwoo walks to him down the corridor, some of their co-workers casting long looks at the both of them before returning to their own business. Minhyuk would like to say that he's used to that, but he's still really not.

"Hey," he says when the alpha has caught up to him, "what's up?"

Hyunwoo gives him a tight-lipped smile and takes a quick glance around the hall. "I was thinking we could talk," he says.

"Oh." Minhyuk looks down at his shoes, shoving his hands in his pockets. He thinks of Hyungwon and Hyungjun, and then nods. It's not like he doesn't know that's what they could talk about. "Sure."

Hyunwoo sighs, and it sounds heavy, just like how his hand feels when he clasps it at Minhyuk's shoulder and leads him to the side. It's the shoulder without the claim mark, but somehow, Minhyuk gets almost painfully aware of it through the touch. The feeling doesn't fade even when Hyunwoo draws his hand away.

"Are you two..." Hyunwoo stops, crossing his arms as he appears to think of the right word to use, "back together now?"

Minhyuk shrugs his shoulders. "We didn't really talk about that," he says honestly, looking up at Hyunwoo, "but I...he said he's going to tell about us to his family."

Hyunwoo raises an eyebrow at that, but doesn't say anything, and Minhyuk continues,

"He's staying over for a few days. He... I don't know, Hyunwoo," he breathes out, "I think things are really starting to work out for us."

"That...that sounds good," Hyunwoo says, and Minhyuk smiles. The claim mark itches, and he brings his hand to it out of instinct, stopping as he catches Hyunwoo watching the movement. The alpha says nothing regarding it, lifting his eyes back to his face, "are you sure you can trust him?"

Minhyuk purses his lips, hesitates, and he knows it's bad to hesitate on such a thing, but Hyunwoo doesn't urge him. "Yes," he ends up saying, because he _does_ trust Hyungwon. He does.

Hyunwoo sighs, but then he smiles, just a little, and nods his head. "You know I'll always be there for you and Hyungjun, right?"

"I know," Minhyuk says softly. He steps forwards and wraps his arms around Hyunwol, pulling him into a quick, tight hug. "I know, Hyunwoo. Thank you, really."

"You don't need to thank me," Hyunwoo says, laughing and ruffling Minhyuk's hair when the latter is obviously about to protest. "Alright, now," he says, "you should go to your family."

Minhyuk stops at that, his heart making a small flip in his chest as he looks at Hyunwoo. "My family," he repeats, the smile on his face growing even though he tries suppressing it. Hyunwoo snorts at him and nods his head.

"Your family."

"Yeah," Minhyuk says. He clasps Hyunwoo's hand and squeezes it quickly, and somehow, he can't even feel the claim mark anymore. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

_His family._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
"Fine, I give up," Hyungwon groans, "I can't understand how this thing works."

Minhyuk laughs, crouching down next to him and Hyungjun and taking the gadget from his hands. "It's _just a children's game,_ huh?"

"Dad is bad at games."

"Yeah, okay, both of you, just keep crushing my ego," Hyungwon sighs, slowly slouching down onto his back on the fluffy carpet. "I'm going to sleep."

"No sleep!" Hyungjun whines, climbing onto him to sit on his chest. Hyungwon bites at his cheek to suppress a laugh and closes his eyes, letting out an exaggerated snore that has Hyungjun shrieking in laughter. "Dad, _no!_ Gotta have dinner soon!"

"Dad is sleeping," Hyungwon says, keeping his eyes closed and smiling a little as he hears Hyungjun snorting at him.

"Hyungjun," Minhyuk speaks, lowering his voice dramatically, "I know how to wake dad."

"How?" Hyungjun asks, his voice a loud whisper. Hyungwon cracks his eyes open just slightly to see how Minhyuk pulls Hyungjun away from him, making him sit next to him.

"Watch and learn," the omega whispers in return, and then he dives towards Hyungwon, and oh, _oh no,_ Hyungwon _knows that look_. He doesn't have any time to escape, since Minhyuk is fast, half-climbing on top of his legs before attacking his sides with tickles. Hyungwon lets out a loud yelp, bursting into laughter at the same time as he desperately tries to twist his body free.

"Stop, stop, _stop!_ " he breathes out, trying to grab Minhyuk's hands with Hyungjun giggling as he watches them. "I'm awake! I surrender!"

Minhyuk laughs, finally drawing his hands away. He stays seated on Hyungwon's thighs, cheekily looking down at him, and Hyungwon thinks it's not fair just how beautiful he always looks, no matter what.

"Dad lost _again_ ," Hyungjun states, and Hyungwon turns his head to look at him, narrowing his eyes,

"Are you taking sides in here?" he questions, reaching over with his hands to try and grab at him. Hyungjun shrieks, scrambling away, but doesn't get far as Minhyuk shoots forwards and scoops him to his arms instead. He squirms wildly at first, screaming and laughing, but in the end he surrenders, curling up against Minhyuk's chest.

He looks content there, _happy_ , and so does Minhyuk, his entire face glowing as he smiles, looking down at him. And as Hyungwon stares at both of them, he feels happy and content too.

He sits up, slowly, his legs still somehow tangled with Minhyuk's, and reaches forward to brush Hyungjun's hair with his fingers. The boy grins up at him, his cheek smushed against Minhyuk's shirt. Hyungwon grins back at him, untangling his and Minhyuk's legs so he can move to sit next to the latter.

"Time for a break?" Minhyuk asks, looking at him. He smiles, laying his head down onto Minhyuk's shoulder.

"Yeah."

Minhyuk laughs a little, not protesting as Hyungwon hooks their arms together, poking Hyungjun's cheek with his forefinger. The boy wrinkles his nose at him, trying to hide his face into Minhyuk's shirt to escape, and Hyungwon laughs.

They stay like that for a while, with Hyungjun looking like he's starting to drift off into sleep, his eyelids gradually falling shut. Hyungwon watches him with his cheek presses on Minhyuk's shoulder, listens to the sounds of Minhyuk breathing.

"I love you," he whispers, "both of you."

He can feel Minhyuk tensing up, holding his breath for a moment, until he exhales deeply and then fiddles around with his arm, finding Hyungwon's hand and intertwining their fingers.

"We love you too," Minhyuk says, his voice cracking at the end of the sentence. Hyungwon squeezes his hand and lifts his head to press a kiss on his temple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
"Are you sure you want to do it alone?" Minhyuk asks carefully, holding onto Hyungwon's hand as the alpha steps out of the apartment. "I could come with you. I _know_ they won't appreciate that at all, but..."

"It's okay," Hyungwon says, leaning against the doorframe and offering a reassuring smile at him. "I think it's the best if I do it alone."

Minhyuk swallows, but returns the smile, slowly letting go of his hand. "Okay," he whispers, "just... Tell me how it goes. And please, try not to fight with them. They're still your parents."

"I know," Hyungwon says. He straightens his back and steps away from the doorway. "I'll try to keep it short, and then I'll be back here."

"Okay," Minhyuk says, again. He still looks unsure, but he smiles when Hyungwon does, making a small wave with his fingers when Hyungwon takes another step back and turns around.

Hyungwon barely makes it to the elevator doors when there are quick footsteps behind him. He spins around and Minhyuk runs into him, the two of them nearly going crashing down to the floor together. Hyungwon regains his balance on the last minute, and doesn't even get to look at Minhyuk properly before the omega kisses him, grasping at his coat and pulling him close. He pulls away all the same, cheeks flushed as Hyungwon stares at him.

"For good luck," he breathes out, letting go of Hyungwon's coat as he swirls around on his heels and practically runs back inside, shutting the door after himself.

Hyungwon is left staring at the door, speechless and eyes wide, for several long minutes, until he finally snaps out of it and turns around to step in the elevator.

Once he's seated in his car, he allows himself to dwell on the kiss for another passing moment, brushing his lips with his fingertips while staring at the steering wheel, as if he has never been kissed before.

A family of four passes by on the street, and that's when he pulls himself together again, starting the car.

It's time for him to finally stand up for what he loves.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's going to be one more chapter + an epilogue after this!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The real family

As a kid, Hyungwon only seeked for his parents' approval. Good grades in school, friends from wealthy families, flawless behaviour in front of adults. He did all of that, and he was always praised by _anyone but his own parents._ He remembers going home on the last day of school at age ten, and telling his parents that he'd gotten the best grades among everyone on his class.

"That's nice, Hyungwon," his father told him. "Where's Hoseok? How did he do?"

Hyungwon thinks about it as he's driving, one hand gripping the steering wheel, and he thinks about Minhyuk and Hyungjun, and about the things his parents said about Minhyuk. He thinks about the company, about being an heir, and he thinks of his promise to Minhyuk, about leaving and taking him and Hyungjun with him. He thinks, and he decides, that this time around, whether he gets his parents' _approval_ or not, it really doesn't matter in the end.

He's going to leave anyway.

He parks his car in the middle of the yard and holds his head up high as he gets out and walks to the main door of his parents' house. He smiles at a maid in the hall as he gets inside and takes his shoes off, and then he walks straight to the living room.

His mother is the first one to notice him, a cup of tea nearly slipping away from her hands as she inhales sharply, grabbing her husband's arm. "Hyungwon, oh my god," she exclaims, "we were _worried."_

Hyungwon nearly apologizes, but he bites on his tongue instead, watching as his father stands up from the sofa with an unapproving expression on his face. "I'm here to talk about that, actually," he says. 

"Then talk," his father grunts, arms crossed across his chest. He obviously wants to say more, but Hyungwon can see he's doing that thing where he says everything with the way he stares Hyungwon down. He's angry. _Very_ angry. But that's nothing new. 

"I have a child," Hyungwon says. His father's face falters, the piercing frown turning into a look of disbelief, and his mother gapes at him, frozen on the sofa. He takes a deep breath and says again, "I have a child, and a mate."

His father's face turns into a frown again, and his mother finally stands up as well, looking at him. "Hyungwon," she says sharply, "that's not funny."

"It's not supposed to be," Hyungwon replies.

His father scoffs. "So you are telling us that wasn't a _joke?"_

"Why would I say something like that as a joke?"

"Because that doesn't make _sense,"_ his mother says, her voice rising in pitch, "how- _who?_ Why haven't you _told us?"_

"Probably because I wasn't very enthusiastic about the thought of being sent back to America," Hyungwon answers dryly.

That snaps his father out of it. The older man gives him a glare and walks up to him, stopping only right in front of him.

"Chae Hyungwon," he growls, "you better not tell me that it's _him."_

_"He_ has a name," Hyungwon snaps, not backing away even if his father's expression darkens. "It's Lee Minhyuk, and he _is_ my mate."

His father shakes his head, and over his shoulder, Hyungwon can see his mother give him an absolute look of horror. He knew to expect that, but it still _angers him_ to know how his parents see Minhyuk when the latter is the most beautiful person in the _world_ and better than any of them could ever be.

"I already claimed him back then," he continues with a lower voice, willing to keep his calm. "He was pregnant when I left, but I only found out once I returned."

His father takes a step back, sighs deeply and brings his hand up to his facr to pinch the bridge of his nose. His mother looks totally helpless, slouching back onto the couch in a very unlikely way to her usual graceful self.

It's then that Hoseok steps into the room, followed by Kihyun, both of them giving Hyungwon an apologetic look. Hyungwon merely glances at them, crossing his arms as his father looks at his brother instead.

"Hoseok," he grumbles, "did you know about this?"

"Not until a few days ago," Hoseok replies softly, "listen, father, please try to understand him."

Their father scoffs.

_"Understand,"_ he repeats, "what's there to understand? Your brother didn't only _date_ this lowlife, but impregnated _and claimed_ him."

Hyungwon grits his teeth together, "s _top_ talking about him like that."

"He _is_ a lowlife!" his father explodes, turning around to properly face him again. "Your mother and I didn't raise you to think it's okay to associate yourself with such people."

"You two have always been too busy with trying to show everyone else what a perfect fucking life you're leading to actually even _raise me."_

"Hyungwon!" his mother snaps, getting up from the sofa again, "don't say that."

Hyungwon rolls his eyes. "So it's appropriate for you to talk shit about my mate, but the moment I say something that, actually, is true, about the two of you, I'm disrespectful, right?"

"Come on," Hoseok pleads, " _please,_ all of you. Arguing like this isn't going to solve anything."

"He's right," Kihyun speaks up, glued to Hoseok's side. Hyungwon snaps his mouth shut and eyes the two of them, his blood still boiling.

Their parents quiet down as well, for a moment, both of them heaving a loud sigh. They look at each other, obviously sharing a silent discussion, and then their father sighs again and looks at Hyungwon.

"So," he says, "your child-"

"Hyungjun," Hyungwon interrupts him, "his name is Hyungjun."

"Hyungjun," his father repeats. "If this is about him, you do know that with our lawyer, it would be easy to get you the full custody. You could raise him without that boy, with another omega. You don't need to ruin your life in order to take care of him."

Hyungwon feels sick. He falls speechless, staring at the older alpha with his hands slipping down, slack to his sides.

"Father," Hoseok hisses, possibly the angriest Hyungwon has heard him ever since middle school, "I don't think that's how it is."

"It's not?" their father asks, raising an eyebrow as he looks at Hyungwon.

"No," Hyungwon breathes out, "it's not."

"Honey," his mother speaks up, "it's okay. It would be the best for him, you know that."

"What I _know_ is _,"_ Hyungwon starts, breathing in deeply to remain calm, "that I love Minhyuk and he's a hundred times better parent to our son than what you two have ever been to me."

His mother flinches, visibly, and his father's face turns from a frown to one of hurt, but he doesn't feel bad, because it's nothing but the truth. Hoseok and Kihyun say nothing, silently staring at him.

"I'm going to stay with them, _both of them,_ away from you, and you two can try and ruin our careers or reputations or whatever," he continues, "but that's only going to further prove the fact that you both are awful, selfish people who only care about money and social status. Not that I'm much better, since I listened to you and left them back then, but at least I'm trying to make things right. Goodbye, and good luck finding a new heir for the company."

With that, he turns around and walks out of his childhood home for the last time, slamming the main doors shut so hard the sound echoes in the yard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minhyuk is just trying to cook dinner, chopping some vegetables with Hyungjun sitting on a stool and watching, when the front door is unlocked and opened. There's only one person who he has given the spare keys, and Hyungjun knows that too, slipping down from the stool and sprinting to the hall. Minhyuk nearly drops the knife on the floor in turn, and he curses under his breath, turning off the stove before following his on.

Once he reaches the hall, he's welcomed with the sight of Hyungwon crouched down onto the floor, Hyungjun hidden in his tight embrace. He watches them for a short while, and then he walks closer, dropping down onto the floor as well and wrapping his arms around the both of them. Hyungwon laughs, and so does Hyungjun, and he follows suit, plopping his head on Hyungwon's shoulder with Hyungjun squeezed in between them.

"How'd it go?" he asks in a whisper. Hyungwon nudges his head with his shoulder and looks at him, smiling softly,

"Let's talk later, alright?"

"Alright," Minhyuk repeats, returning the smile and closing his eyes as Hyungwon leans in to press a kiss on his lips.

Hyungjun whines in between them, and they laugh, pulling apart. Minhyuk scoops Hyungjun up into his arms as he gets up from the floor.

"Let dad take off his shoes," he says as Hyungjun protests, wiggling around in his arms. The boy pouts in response, but surrenders, laying his head on his shoulder as they wait for Hyungwon to take off his shoes and jacket.

"Were you cooking something?" Hyungwon asks once he's done, reaching over to take Hyungjun into his arms. Minhyuk lets the boy go, quite gladly. His muscles are sore, and Hyungjun has been growing _fast,_ already taller than what kids his height usually are.

"Yeah," he answers, "nothing big, though. I'm still not a master chef or anything."

Hyungwon grins, leaning his cheek on Hyungjun's hair as the boy clings onto him. "That's fine," he says, "I love you anyway."

Minhyuk snorts, but it's more of a exaggerated, nervous intake of breath than anything. He crosses his arms and narrows his eyes, trying to look unaffected even with his red cheeks. "When did you get this cheesy?"

"When did you get this shy?" Hyungwon asks back, grinning wider as Minhyuk gapes at him. He then proceeds to head out of the hall with Hyungjun, bumping their shoulders together as he passes by Minhyuk.

Minhyuk stares after them wordlessly, taking his time before following them to the kitchen. By then, they're already seated on the stool Hyungjun was sitting on earlier, with Hyungjun babbling about something and Hyungwon listening with a smile on his face.

Minhyuk snorts at them, again, turning the stove on and picking up his knife. Once he has his back to them, he smiles, blinking away the tiny tears in the corners of his eyes. They're a good kind of tears, for the first time in years, and he has almost forgotten about how that feels, to be so happy he feels like crying.

He only lets himself burst into those tears freely later on, once Hyungjun is already sleeping and Hyungwon wraps his arms around him, the two of them huddled together on the corner of the couch, and asks him, "how does a house in a beach somewhere near Busan sound like?"

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so!!!
> 
> i deleted the eventual smut tag hAHsg i'm sorry to anyone who might've been looking forward to that - the fic sort of went into a different direction than what i first planned, and it would feel sort of forced to put smut in this chapter or the epilogue.
> 
> speaking of the epilogue, i already have it planned out, so expect it to be up in a few days unless i get super busy with something else shdjdldbdl


	19. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years later

"Jesus," Hyungwon mutters under his breath, tugging at his tie with one hand. "It's so hot in here."

"You're just nervous," Hoseok says, amused, gently bouncing his legs as he sits on the small couch of the dressing room. Both of the two-year-olds seated on his lap giggle together at the movement, and Hyungwon's face softens just for a moment as he watches them, but then he returns to his stressed out state.

"I'm not _nervous,"_ he hisses, swirling around to check himself on the mirror. "I'm just- it's- whatever. Why is Jooheon still not here? I'm seriously _really_ close to taking his bestman rights away and giving them to you instead."

"I'm flattered," Hoseok laughs, "but he wouldn't ever forgive you for that. Come on, there's still fifteen minutes before the ceremony starts."

_"Fifteen_ minutes?" Hyungwon repeats in horror, spinning around again. His brother groans exaggeratedly in response, rolling his eyes.

"Was I this annoying in my wedding?"

Hyungwon scoffs at him, frantically adjusting the buttons on his sleeves, "you were so much worse, shut up."

Hoseok gives him an offended look, but fails snapping back at him, pressing his lips together and wrinkling his nose instead. He keeps bouncing his legs, until Minseon starts wiggling in his hold, reaching out to Hyungwon,

"Dada!"

Hyungwon cracks a smile at her, leaving his sleeves alone as he steps closer to the couch and scoops the girl up to his arms. Hoseok is left cooing at Yoojung, who nearly breaks into tears after having her cousin separated from her.

"The ceremony better go well," Hyungwon breathes out as he holds his daughter with one arm, using the other hand to adjust the flowers attached on her hair.

"It's going to be _perfect,"_ Hoseok says pointedly, getting up from the couch with Yoojung clinging onto him, "seriously, Won, calm down."

"I _am_ calm," Hyungwon says pointedly, wrapping both of his arms around Minseon and rocking her gently. "I'm just...thinking."

Hoseok snorts. "Well, _don't think._ It doesn't suit you."

Hyungwon narrows his eyes at him. The door to the room creaks open, and Kihyun steps in, with Yoonho hoisted up in his lap. The four-year-old slips down from his mother's lap as soon as he sees Hoseok, sprinting over to him and his sister.

"Hey, love," Hoseok coos, crouching down to hoist the boy into his arms as well. Kihyun shakes his head at them and leans against the doorframe while looking at Hyungwon.

"Jooheon and Changkyun just got here," he says, "everyone is already in the chapel. We should get going."

"Yeah," Hyungwon says, his voice nearly cracking out of nervousness. He hugs Minseon tighter and presses a kiss on her temple, whispering, "dada will give you to uncle Kihyun, alright?"

Minseon nods her head firmly, and settles in Kihyun's arms right away once Hyungwon has handed her over to the omega. Hyungwon gives her one single pat on the cheek before Hoseok and Kihyun both rush him out of the room, and then out of the building, towards the chapel outside.

It goes in a blur. He meets Jooheon briefly, too focused on trying to calm his nerves to even complain at the latter for being late, and then he's already standing in front of the altar, his hands trembling as he clasps them together. Jooheon stands to his side with a ring, and from the other side of the chapel, Changkyun enters quietly with the other ring, shooting a smile at both his boyfriend and Hyungwon.

The music starts playing, and the quests get up from their seats. Hyungwon sees Hyunwoo sitting in the front row with Jihyun, both of them wearing matching engagement rings, and the older alpha gives him a reassuring smile. Minseon is next to them, still in Kihyun's arms, playing with a flower, and Hyungwon thinks back to Hoseok's words, _it's going to be perfect._

Minhyuk meets eyes with him as soon as he steps in the chapel, lighting up into a blinding smile as he walks down the aisle, arm in arm with Hyungjun. Hyungwon suddenly forgets all about being nervous and breaks into a smile as well, a short, breathless laugh escaping his mouth.

As soon as the two reach the altar, Hyungjun wraps his arms around Minhyuk and squeezes, stepping then over to Hyungwon to give him a hug as well while grinning up to him. Hyungwon grins back, ruffling his hair, and watching fondly as he giddily heads to the first row to Hoseok and Kihyun.

It's only then that Hyungwon looks at Minhyuk again, and he almost feels like pulling him into himself and kissing him already, but he stops himself at the last minute. Minhyuk laughs as he looks back at him, and they hold onto each others hands tightly as everyone sits back down.

And it does go just perfectly, even though they almost drop both of the rings on the floor, and even if Minhyuk bursts into tears while reading his vows, which results in Hyungwon crying too, the both of them reaching forward to wipe at each other's tears at the same time. By the time they're allowed to kiss, they're already both laughing and crying at the same time, and it's messy and Minhyuk actually tugs at Hyungwon's shirt so hard one button pops off. Jooheon whistles from the side, and Hyungwon throws the button at him, before grabbing Minhyuk's hand again and running down the aisle with him.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so here it is, we have reached the end!!! i suppose it's sort of cheesy but hey hyunghyuk definitely deserve a happy & cheesy ending so
> 
> it's been a long ride and i just want to thank everyone who's been supporting this fic tshdjdhsks you guys are the best !!!!! i hope you have started your year off well and only have happy days from now on too <3
> 
> hit me up on twitter: @kihyooms


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